Do NOT sign the petition to repeal Prop 4!
- hello18805
- Dec 22
- 3 min read
Dear Friend,
My message today: Do NOT sign the petition to repeal Prop 4.
In 2018, Utahn's loudly and overwhelmingly told our state representatives that we wanted change by passing Prop 4. Since then our GOP controlled state has done everything they can to ignore our voices and maintain the status quo.
They know that drawing congressional districts that allow for competitive races will force them to be accountable to voters for their policies, votes, and actions. Instead of taking responsibility, they’re more interested in keeping power.
Say no to signing, tell others not to sign, share these messages on social media, and contact your representatives to share your thoughts.
If you or someone you know has signed the petition and want to remove their support, they can go to this site and click "Remove Signature From Petition" to start that process.
Thank you and keep fighting,
Jeremy Thompson
Chair, Weber County Democratic Party
213-537-3691
Frequently Asked Questions about the Prop 4 repeal petition
What is Prop 4?
Utah Proposition 4 — also called the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission and Standards Act or Better Boundaries — was a ballot measure narrowly approved as part of the 2018 Utah elections. The proposition created by statute an independent redistricting commission in the state, by moving map-drawing away from partisan legislative control to an independent commission with clear criteria as a measure to avoid gerrymandering. The Legislature can accept or reject the commission’s maps, but must explain why its own maps better meet Prop 4’s criteria.
The Utah GOP-led Legislature passed SB 200 in 2020, repealing key parts of Prop 4 — including the ban on partisan gerrymandering — and reduced the independent commission to an advisory role.
In August of this year, the court ruled that repeal was unconstitutional and restored Prop 4 as law.
The GOP is now gathering signatures to put the issue back on the ballot, as well as working to further restrict our ability to create change via citizen led ballot initiatives.
What’s wrong with repealing Prop 4?
The effort by the GOP to defy Prop 4 is part of a larger effort to suppress the ability of Utahns to vote on key issues via the citizen-led initiative process. When Prop 4 passed in 2018, it became the law. The GOP has spent the past 7 years avoiding obeying the law.
They are trying to frame this issue as the Utah courts overstepping their authority when in reality they are looking to expand their own authority, conveniently forgetting that their authority is only granted to them by us, the citizens and voters of Utah.
They dislike the idea of having to work for their Congressional seats, preferring instead to create safe zones for themselves so they can stay in power indefinitely, accountable to no one but their bank accounts.
"But, I don’t want judges deciding. Shouldn’t this be up to the legislature?"
The courts were forced to weigh in because the state legislature defied the vote of the citizens of Utah asking for this change. The Legislature is attempting to frame this as an illegal transfer of power from them to the courts, when in fact it is a clear violation of their responsibility to represent the people who put them into office and who pay their salaries.
Who is funding the repeal effort?
The majority of funding is from out of state. The Trump aligned dark money group, Securing American Greatness, Inc. has provided more than $3.8 million to a group called ‘Utahns for Representative Government.’ This is a massive amount of of money from out of state that is being used to manipulate our citizens and to allow our elected officials to hide from their responsibilities to us.
What are Prop 4’s key redistricting standards?
Prop 4 standards for drawing district maps include:
Minimize dividing counties, cities, and towns.
Create compact and contiguous districts.
Preserve communities of interest.
Respect natural geographic features.
Prohibit maps that unduly favor or disfavor any political party or incumbent.
