Signatures Wanted to Put Prop 4 on the November Ballot…Again

In Southern Utah, the “signature push” to revisit Utah’s redistricting rules isn’t just a Salt Lake City political story — it’s reshaping conversations here at home about representation, local power, and voter control. State leaders are collecting signatures to put 2018’s Proposition 4 back on the ballot. That ballot initiative, which created an independent redistricting commission to reduce gerrymandering and narrowly passed by voters, has been challenged in court and by the Legislature.

SIGNATURES NEEDED

As of mid-January, the Utah GOP has gathered nearly 47,000 signatures toward the roughly 141,000 needed by Feb. 15, aiming to give voters a chance again to weigh in on how legislative and congressional maps are drawn. A counter-effort has also sprung up, with some residents urging others not to sign or to remove their names if they have already been submitted.

NEW MAPS

The push is rooted in a broader legal fight after courts found that the Legislature’s 2020 maps conflicted with Proposition 4’s anti-gerrymandering standards — a ruling tied to a long-running case that began with the League of Women Voters v. Utah State Legislature and led to judges ordering new maps ahead of the 2026 elections.

OUTSIDE PRESSURE TO KILL PROP 4

Here in Washington County, Commissioner Adam Snow spoke with Dale Desmond today on Southern U-Talk (LISTEN HERE) and has seen significant out-of-state interest in keeping this issue off the November ballot.  He has weighed in on these disputes beyond the signature drive. Last year, Snow joined his fellow commissioners in opposing adoption of a court-approved congressional map, arguing that a judge exceeded his authority by dictating county compliance. As the signature initiative unfolds, voices in Southern Utah — from elected officials like Snow to grassroots organizers — are wrestling with how best to balance voter intent, judicial rulings, and local priorities in shaping Utah’s political future.