SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Republican Party-backed citizen ballot initiative to repeal Proposition 4 will not appear on the November ballot after opponents have apparently persuaded enough people to remove their signatures.
"Right now, unfortunately, it’s a kick to the gut, right? You spent a lot of time, you work hard to get something moving forward. But the process played out according to the law. I’m frustrated with the outcome. But this is just the start of the process," Utah GOP Chair Rob Axson told FOX 13 News on Thursday.
Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson, the state's chief elections officer, told FOX 13 News in a statement she would not declare the citizen initiative invalid just yet.
"April 30 is the deadline to declare the initiative sufficient or insufficient," she said. "We will carefully review all data and ensure that counties have verified their numbers before making the declaration."
The Utah GOP, backed by President Trump, poured millions into gathering signatures to repeal Prop. 4. Under Utah law, a citizen ballot initiative must meet thresholds of signatures statewide and in 26 of 29 Senate districts. Groups like Better Boundaries and Brave Utahns Rapid Response Network have been contacting those who signed and convincing them to fill out the paperwork to remove their signature.
"To the 230,000 Utahns who signed? Thank you," Axson said. "To the 2,000 volunteers who helped us in this effort? Huge thank you. Utahns stood up, they articulated what they wanted to see happen. While the technicalities in the law are preventing this issue from going to the ballot this year, Utahns have made clear they want this to come back to them and they want the final say."
The initiative appeared to have failed in Senate District 15, which is centered around Cottonwood Heights. As of Thursday, tracking by the lobbying firm Morgan & May Public Affairs showed it had failed by 258 signatures. Ironically, it is the district of Sen. Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, who is also running for Congress in the newly-created 1st Congressional District. She told FOX 13 News on Thursday her district is a big supporter of independent redistricting.
"This won overwhelmingly in my district and my district is a very educated, engaged, civic-minded group of people so I'm not surprised they’re working hard to take this off the ballot," she said of Prop. 4.
But Better Boundaries, the group that backed Prop. 4 and has been involved in the effort to get people to remove signatures, said it was not declaring victory just yet. Elizabeth Rasmussen, the group's director, said they would continue to try to knock off other state Senate districts.
"I don’t want to celebrate too quickly," she told FOX 13 News. "I mean, there’s still a lot of Utahns we are reaching out to who still want to remove their signature from the petition.
In an Instagram post, BURNN said it was also being cautious.
"We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: the question of Prop 4 being on the ballot or not will not be officially settled until @lt.govhenderson makes the official call in a few weeks. Reporting today, while not totally accurate, is really exciting! Yes, signature totals fell below threshold in a fourth senate district, which means the petition is set to fail. 🥳," the group said.
"HOWEVER. We’ve all seen the twists and turns this thing has taken in the past eight years (even the past few weeks!). We here at BURRN are not declaring victory prematurely, and urge you not to do this either. We’re giving each other high fives and may indulge in a celebratory Crumbl or two 😋 but we are continuing to work to get ANY Utahn’s signature removed who would like to do so. Are we happy today? Heck to the yes we are. But we’re also not done working. 🔥🔥🔥"
Proposition 4 was a citizen ballot initiative that voters approved back in 2018, creating an independent redistricting commission to help draw boundaries for Congress, Utah State Legislature and state school board. But the Republican-supermajority Utah State Legislature overrode it and adopted its own maps.
That triggered a lawsuit by the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government, who alleged the Congressional map was gerrymandered to favor Republicans and the legislature's actions improperly overrode the citizen initiative. A judge agreed, threw out the map and ordered a new one. The judge then rejected the legislature's redrawn map and implemented one crafted by the plaintiffs which she said aligned with the tenets of Prop. 4.
It created a more competitive Salt Lake County-centric district that is in place now.
The Utah State Legislature's Republican majority has insisted it has the sole constitutional power to redistrict. The Utah GOP and opponents of the initiative traded accusations of misleading voters to signing and removing signatures.
"The hypocrisy in this has been disgusting, frankly. You have a standard that our effort was held to, which is fine. That always had to be met and where we fell short? We addressed it," Axson said.
But Rasmussen said voters wanted Utah political leaders to respect their wishes.
"I think it really shows that Utah voters want an independent redistricting commission and standards for maps. Our polling has shown support for Prop. 4 has only grown since 2018 and this is confirmation of that," she said.
The Utah State Legislature may still advance a constitutional amendment to rein in the power of citizen ballot initiatives and their ability to alter and reform government. Lawmakers could meet in a special session soon to put it on the November ballot.
"At the end of the day, this is about the people of Utah. This outcome doesn’t change the need to protect our republic. We remain committed to restoring stability, upholding constitutional order and safeguarding the voice of the people, because the future of our great state depends on it. We are working to make sure the people, not chaos, shape Utah's future," Senate President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, told FOX 13 News in a statement.
