- Nearly two-thirds of Utahns support Proposition 4, with 55% of Republicans in favor, according to new polling commissioned by Better Boundaries.
- The poll, conducted by Embold Research, surveyed 1,731 registered voters in January.
- A majority of Utahns want voters to have say over how political boundaries are drawn.
SALT LAKE CITY — A majority of Utahns — including 55% of Republicans — support the anti-gerrymandering law known as Proposition 4, according to new polling released Monday.
Nearly two-thirds of poll respondents said they strongly or somewhat support the ballot initiative that was narrowly approved by voters in 2018, according to a polling memo obtained by KSL. The poll was commissioned by Better Boundaries, the group behind Proposition 4, and conducted by Embold Research, which polled 1,731 registered voters in Utah between Jan. 12 and Jan. 15.
The polling shows some 64% of Utah voters support Proposition 4, even as state lawmakers have bristled at a judicial ruling last summer that reinstated the law and as some plan to propose a constitutional amendment to give lawmakers power to overturn or change initiatives passed by voters.
A group backed by the Utah Republican Party is also running an initiative to wholly repeal Proposition 4. The group has until Feb. 14 to collect enough signatures to place the initiative on the November ballot, and President Donald Trump weighed in Friday in support of the repeal effort.
"We don't need to spin or hype these numbers," said Elizabeth Rasmussen, the executive director of Better Boundaries. "It is clear that Utahns want to choose their politicians, and they don't believe that politicians should have the power to choose their voters."
Nearly three-quarters of Utah voters believe that who can draw political district boundaries is a "very important" issue, according to the poll, with more than 90% of Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters saying it is at least "somewhat important" who draws the maps.
Only 19% of respondents said they somewhat or strongly opposed Proposition 4 — with 18% saying they are not sure — but support for the measure was stronger among Democrats (88%) and independents (74%) than among Republicans.
One top Republican who chaired the redistricting committee said Monday that he took the results "with a grain of salt" because the poll was commissioned by Better Boundaries.
"I, quite honestly, think it will be a lot closer than that when I talk to people, at least in my area," Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, told reporters.
Although the initiative to repeal Proposition 4 has only 57,437 signatures of the approximately 144,000 required to qualify for the ballot, top Republicans were optimistic that the threshold would be met before the deadline, which is less than three weeks away.
"I've heard they're in good shape," said Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton.
Proposition 4 was originally passed in 2018, establishing an independent commission to help lawmakers draw congressional maps. It also established neutral criteria that prohibited gerrymandering to benefit either political party.
Lawmakers repealed that law and replaced it with an advisory commission in 2021, before adopting a congressional map they drew themselves. The issue was reignited last August, when 3rd District Judge Dianna Gibson ruled lawmakers acted unconstitutionally by changing Proposition 4 and reinstated the initiative as the law of the land.
That kicked off a scramble to adopt a new congressional map for the 2026 midterms. Gibson adopted a map in November that gives Democrats the advantage in one of Utah's four congressional seats, but lawmakers have signaled their intent to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court and hope to have Gibson's ruling reversed.
57% of respondents disapproved of the Legislature repealing Proposition 4, according to the poll, but Democrats were much more likely to disapprove than Republicans. Nearly 90% of registered Democrats and 68% of independents disapproved of the repeal, compared to 47% of Republicans.
The Utah Constitution gives lawmakers the power to create political boundaries after each decennial census, and top GOP leaders have said judicial rulings have eroded their authority in that regard.
The recent poll found that a majority of voters in each party think voters should have the final say over redistricting, and more than 70% say there should be neutral, independent standards for redistricting.
A poll commissioned last month by the conservative-leaning Sutherland Institute found that more than 90% of Utah voters want a commission to be involved at some level in drawing maps and only 9% think lawmakers should have sole authority.
