Signature Gatherers and Utah Prop 4

Originally Published January 15th 2026

This post is intended to be a relatively neutral and informational statement of history and context surrounding Utah Prop 4, as well as the continuing litigation concerning Utah SB200. I update it from time to time with new information.

TL;DR

Proposition 4 was voted on and passed into law in 2018. It establishes an independent committee separate from the legislature to draw district boundaries, with the aim of preventing GerrymanderingIf you need a refresher/introduction about gerrymandering, this short video from TED is a decent resource.

. Signature gatherers are trying to get it back on the ballot so it can be challenged and potentially struck down.

The committee is composed of 7 members chosen “one by the Governor, three by legislative majority party leaders, and three by legislative minority party leaders”.

Here’s a rough framework for deciding whether to sign, please see below for more details and do your own research:

  • Do you want Prop 4 to be challenged on the ballot, and put to a second vote? ===> You may want to sign.

  • Do you like Prop 4 and don’t want it voted on for a second time? ===> You may not want to sign.

  • Do you want to remove your signature from something you already signed? ===> instructions here.

  • Do you want more context, information, and history about what is going on? ===>

Why I’m writing this post

It’s currently the second week of the Spring 2026 semester at the University of Utah, and I’ve been approached by signature gatherers outside the library or elsewhere on campus 4-5 times at this point. Last week I had a longer conversation with one of the signature gatherers, who treated me decently enough and who I got to know a little bit. He told me he’s from Detroit, and we spoke for a while about the ramifications of Prop 4. I pressed him on the issue for a while and eventually he admitted he didn’t really believe in what he was gathering signatures for, but he had been "given an offer he couldn't refuse" (his words, not mine). I tried to keep it cordial with him, but not all students have had pleasant interactions with representatives from their organization.

For instance, a few days later I spoke with a student (from UVU) inside the Marriott Library (UofU) carrying a “Decline to Sign” poster (counter to the purposes of the signature gatherers). Evidently a few minutes after I spoke with him in the library he went outside with his sign and a signature gatherer became verbally aggressive with him, going so far as to tear his sign in half. He (the other student) texted me a picture of the torn sign, I only have the details he’s texted me and I did not witness the event personally, but to quote his message directly he said that the signature gatherer:

"ripped my sign up and stepped up on me telling me he was gonna beat the shit out of me"

With his permission I’m including a picture of him and his sign here:

Image of protester with sign ripped in half

There’s been some criticism (reported on by the Salt Lake Tribune, KSL, and BURRN) that signature gatherers are engaging in deceptive practices and obtaining signatures by misleading signers. The organization hiring them claims this is untrue. A recent Fox13 Article goes so far as to make claims concerning outright fraudulent behavior on the part of signature gatherers.

Another Fox13 Report quotes U of U students who say that signature gatherers responded to questions about the petitions saying:

"I don't really know. I'm just trying to get signatures"

Another student is quoted in the article, saying that a signature gatherer said to them:

"OK, get registered in Utah, and then if I see you again, come sign this petition for Prop 4"

The KSL article quotes Elizabeth Rasmussen, Executive Director of Better Boundaries:

"...reports we have heard, and we have dozens of reports, have either been vague or outright lying about what people are signing."

and that signature gatherers have:

"...been saying 'this is going to protect Prop. 4, this keeps the map.'"

Robert Axson (chair of the Republican party and founder of the organization outsourcing signature gathering) responded to these claims in the same KSL article saying:

"We would never go and try to confuse folks away from the facts, because the facts are ones that we believe in"

the Office of the Lt. Governor is quoted in the same KSL article as saying:

"The law requires the title of any initiative be included on signature packets. The title in this case is, "Repeal of Independent Redistricting Commission and Standards Act Initiative" ... This language is required so regardless of what someone is told, they can read what they are agreeing to if they decide to sign"

Additionally there are many comments, posts etc. on local subreddits:Obviously, social media comments are difficult to corroborate, and low quality sources as a result. Nevertheless they make up part of the discourse and perception around the issue, I think they’re worth speaking about. I may come back and add more links later. Most of these quotes and sources about this happen verbally in brief interactions. So without recorded evidence of some kind, it’s difficult to verify these claims one way or another. My personal conversations with signature gatherers usually take the route of me pressing for more explicit information or asking a direction question like “Is this for or against Prop 4?” which tends to shorten the interactions. The only long conversation I had felt a little roundabout and took me a while to get a direct answer, but the signature gatherer did answer that the signatures were “against prop 4” eventually.

  • "the guy I talked to said it was to overturn a law that was against prop 4" (link)
  • "Hostile paid signature gatherer at Layton Home Depot" (link)

So, in the spirit of being informed I sat down after my first interaction with a signature gatherer and did some research on the history of the issue, what Prop 4 is, and how we got to where we are today.

I chose not to sign. That being said, this post is intended to be a relatively neutral and informal statement of the facts/timeline with links to more in-depth sources. I’m not affiliated with the organizations mentioned here, nor am I being paid or compensated in any way to write this post. I’m a student who keeps being approached by signature gatherers. I’m posting my notes here in hopes that they will help others be more informed and make a conscious decision, with no confusion, regardless of their political affiliations.

Summary of Who’s Involved on Both Sides:

Timeline of events:

(Drawn from a variety of sources)Such as this Ballotpedia page read if you want more in-depth info. Or go read a full timeline with legal documents at The American Redistricting Project. The most relevant document there is likely the Original Complaint by the plaintiffs. A very short graphical timeline can also be found at the Better Boundaries Project

2018:

  • An initiated state statute (i.e. a law we get to directly vote on on) called Proposition 4 is on the ballot in Utah.
  • According to Ballotpedia, the proposition creates “a seven-member independent redistricting commission to draft and recommend to the Utah State Legislature maps for congressional and state legislative districts according to certain criteria”
    • From the the original voter handout: committee members are chosen “one by the Governor, three by legislative majority party leaders, and three by legislative minority party leaders”
  • Basically, instead of the legislature getting to decide district boundaries and who gets to vote for them, a committee of people chosen by both the majority and minority party do. This is to prevent gerrymandering
  • Proposition 4 passes (very narrowly: votesmart fact page with vote breakdown), and becomes law.
  • What it means is: a committee of seven people chosen by both political parties, and the governor draw the maps, but the legislature can reject the map under certain conditions.

2020

  • The Utah Legislature passes SB200 (full text here). I’m not a lawyer, so do your own read-through. But as far as I can tell the crucial lines are 406 and 407:

"The committee or the Legislature may, but is not required to, vote on or adopt a map submitted to the committee or the Legislature by the commission."

  • This means that whatever maps the committee decides on are only suggestions, and the legislature can draw their own maps.

2021

  • The redistricting committee is announced (KPCW Article discussing the members chosen)

  • The redistricting committee starts a Facebook Page

  • Rob Bishop, a committee member, quits the committee saying “This is a metro-centric group”

  • The legislature rejects the committee suggestion for the district map, and passes their own district map. The complete history of the proposed maps from the independent committee, and then the legislature committee can be found here if you’re willing to download, unzip, and view the GIS files with a compatible program such as ArcGIS or similar

  • The new map cuts Salt Lake City into 4 pieces (Critics argue that this is gerrymandering in favor of more Republican seats).

    • There’s an interactive map of district map data here
    • There’s a whole page (also with interactive maps) here that shows the two maps side-by-side so you can see the difference.
    • Dave’s Redistricting Maps is another cool interactive resource

2022

  • This is taken to court by Utah League of Women Voters and Mormon Women for Ethical Government in July 2022.
  • The court rejects some portions of the suit and accepts others, saying that the legislature can draw the maps subject to certain conditions (it’s a complicated legal ruling, do your own research). Essentially because they can alter any state statute according to the state constitutionThere’s more argument and nuance here, once again do your own research.

2024

"In the Third Judicial District Court, Salt Lake County, the plaintiffs argued that the Legislature's actions violated the Utah Constitution by nullifying the reforms enacted by the people through Proposition 4. The district court dismissed this claim, holding that the Legislature has the authority to amend or repeal any statute, including those enacted by citizen initiative, without limitation. The plaintiffs appealed this decision."

2025

  • Judge Gibson gives the legislature 30 days to draw a new map, with the understanding that if the 30 day deadline is not met the judge will choose from maps submitted by the plaintiffsThis Utah News Dispatch Article speaks more to that and links directly to the court decision here

  • The legislature publishes a statement about this deadline on their site calling the deadline rushed and arbitrary
  • The legislature creates “Map C” and sends it to the court. It is rejected by the judge. (Deseret News Article, )
  • Fox 13 includes an hour by hour summary of the meetings discussing the vote on this new map and it’s well worth a read
  • Judge Diana Gibson rejects Map C in the conclusion of an 11 page legal ruling, stating that:

"Map C was an extreme partisan gerrymander"

  • (Utah News Dispatch has an article here discussing the ruling)
  • The court rules that one of the plaintiff maps will be used
  • Salt Lake City is now its own district (see the maps for details)
  • The previously mentioned PAC “Securing American Greatness Inc.” donates $4,350,000 to Utahns for Representative Government (As stated on disclosures.utah.gov)
  • Utahns for Representative Government hires Patriot Grassroots to do signature gathering for them.
    • Utah ABC4 runs an article about this.
    • Donald Trump Jr. puts out a tweet advertising for these positions.

2026

  • I am approached by signature gatherers repeatedly in my day-to-day life and write this post as a result
  • Litigation about the whole system of drawing boundaries is ongoing, and efforts are being made by opponents to get Prop 4 removed from law
  • The primaries are coming up in June 2026. Go see who’s running
  • You can see what candidates will be on your ballot by entering your address on votesearch.utah.gov

Final Thoughts

I submitted an earlier draft of this post to r/Utah, and a few other places. You can go read the comments and discussion there. I’ve made some revisions and added more sources and direct quotes since then. If there’s more you feel belongs in this post, feel free to comment on that thread and I’ll see it there. Or on mastodon at @kingsfoil@fosstodon.org if you’re on the fediverse.

Regardless of your political affiliations, stay informed, avoid ragebait from either side of the aisle, and register to vote!

Thanks for reading.