Why the Prop 4 repeal initiative's future could hinge on a few signatures in Davis County

SALT LAKE CITY — The future of a ballot initiative to repeal Proposition 4 sits on a knife's edge after narrowly clearing the signature threshold in the last needed Senate district Friday.

The initiative cleared the statewide threshold on Thursday, but organizers also need to meet thresholds in 26 of the 29 state Senate districts and survive efforts by opponents asking people to remove their names in order to put the question on the November ballot.

Thresholds were met in 25 districts as of Friday morning, according to an unofficial tally based on numbers from the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office, and the initiative was only eight signatures short in what could be the tipping-point district, District 7, which is held by Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton.

The district covers eastern Davis County and a portion of Morgan County. After verifying all the remaining signature packets by Friday afternoon, Davis County Clerk Brian McKenzie told KSL that an additional 56 signatures were verified in District 7, moving the initiative past the goalpost by 48 signatures.

He said his office is still doubling-checking some signatures that were not verified to make sure that none were mistakenly disqualified.

But he also said they have yet to process several hundred requests from voters seeking to remove their names from the petition list that have come in this week. Those removal requests come from across the county and it's unclear how many would impact the total in District 7, but the narrow margins mean the initiative could come down to the wire.

The three other districts that have yet to cross the threshold are all controlled by Democrats in Salt Lake County, which still has outstanding signature packets.

Voters have 45 days to request that their names be removed after their signature is posted on the lieutenant governor's website.

Blake Moore urges against signature removal

Meanwhile, Utah Rep. Blake Moore is calling on Better Boundaries to back off of efforts to convince people to remove their names from a petition to repeal Proposition 4 and said he backs a proposal to amend the Utah Constitution to allow state lawmakers to overrule ballot initiatives.

The statement is notable coming from Moore, a Republican congressman who served as a co-chair of the Better Boundaries initiative in 2018 which established an independent commission to help draw political boundaries and created standards to prevent political gerrymandering.

But after a Utah judge tossed the congressional map drawn by lawmakers last fall and selected a version submitted by plaintiffs who had sued the Legislature — which creates a Democratic-leaning district in Salt Lake County — Moore says the process has become unaccountable.

"This is a simple issue for me: Blue states and red states should follow redistricting standards. I supported that then and I support it now," he said in a social media post Thursday. "I also strongly oppose the idea that a judge could select congressional maps from proposals submitted by unelected plaintiffs. When that happens, accountability disappears."

The congressman called on Better Boundaries and other groups to stop efforts to convince voters to remove their names from the petition packets. Better Boundaries has mailed removal forms to voters who have signed, which prompted a lawsuit from Utahns for Representative Government, the GOP-backed group that is seeking to repeal Proposition 4.

"In 2018, Better Boundaries believed Utahns deserved a vote on this issue. Today, they and other groups are attempting to reverse participation by encouraging signature removals from the petition," Moore said. "They've gone from trusting the process to fighting for a partisan outcome. I especially condemn any misleading efforts from any group on this issue."

As for the fate of Proposition 4, Moore says, "We should let Utahns decide."

Utahns for Representative Government chimed in on X Friday, asking: "Will Better Boundaries follow their founder's directive and stop subverting the will of 160,000 Utahns who signed to place the Repeal Prop 4 initiative on the ballot?"

Elizabeth Rasmussen, the executive director of Better Boundaries, reaffirmed that voters have the right to request that their name be removed.

"We agree with Congressman Moore that states should have standards for redistricting, and that the people should be able to decide," she told KSL in a statement. "If someone wants to keep their signature on the petition, that's their right. If someone was misled, given inaccurate information or simply changed their mind and wants to remove it, that's also their right."

She added that her organization has heard from "too many Utahns who say they were misled or given inaccurate information."

In his statement, Moore also offered support for an amendment to Utah's Constitution that would let lawmakers amend initiatives passed by voters, calling the authority "vital." Such a proposal has long been floated by lawmakers, but with one week remaining in the legislative session, the Republican-controlled Legislature has yet to put forward a proposal.

Asked whether an amendment will be placed on the ballot, Adams told reporters: "There's a high probability that it will be on the ballot." But he didn't say whether lawmakers would vote on that during this session, or in a special session later on in the year.

For her part, Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, said she would also like the public to have a chance to weigh in on whether Proposition 4 should be repealed.

"I always think the public should have a chance to answer a question that has to do with the government," she said.

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