Nearly two-thirds of Utahns support Proposition 4 — the 2018 ballot initiative creating an independent redistricting commission and banning gerrymandering — and 57% oppose the Legislature’s efforts to repeal the measure, according to new poll numbers from backers of the law.
The new findings come as lawmakers’ attorneys are asking the Utah Supreme Court to overturn 3rd District Judge Dianna Gibson’s rulings that rejected lawmakers’ congressional map as a partisan gerrymander that violated Proposition 4 and imposed a new map for the 2026 midterm elections.
Legislative lawyers filed a motion before the Utah Supreme Court on Friday, arguing the state constitution gives lawmakers the sole power to draw congressional and legislative boundaries and attempts to limit that power are, themselves, unconstitutional.
They are asking the five Republican-appointed justices to decide by Feb. 20 whether to pause Gibson’s decision while they argue the decision should be overturned.
“An initiative cannot change the Utah Constitution,” the Legislature’s lawyers write in their court filing. “But Proposition 4 does just that. It impermissibly intrudes on the Legislature’s redistricting power under the Utah and U.S. Constitutions and on the Legislature’s state constitutional power to set its internal rules.”
Meanwhile, attorneys for the plaintiffs who challenged the Legislature’s maps — the League of Women Voters, Mormon Women for Ethical Government and a handful of impacted voters — contend the Legislature missed the deadlines to file its appeal of Gibson’s two rulings, which were issued in August and November, and the court should not consider lawmakers’ appeal.
In addition, Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson has filed a motion to intervene in the case before the state Supreme Court. His brief, which was filed last week, says his office has identified several problems with the map that Gibson adopted, including split communities that make it difficult for the clerk to administer the election.
Davidson agrees with the Legislature, urging the court to discard the map that Gibson chose — which creates a Democrat-leaning district in Salt Lake County — and use the map Republican lawmakers passed in 2021 for the 2026 election. That map created four safe Republican districts in each election since.
While the legal challenge is proceeding, Utah Republicans are pushing for a 2026 ballot initiative that would repeal Proposition 4 and restore the Legislature’s power to gerrymander political boundaries. As of Monday, county clerks had validated 57,437 of the 140,748 signatures needed to put the repeal on the ballot.
On Friday, President Donald Trump posted a plea on Truth Social urging Utahns to sign the petition.
“Utahns deserve Maps drawn by those they elect, not Rogue Judges or Leftwing Activist who never faced the Voters,” Trump wrote in his post. “I encourage all Patriotic Utahns, Republicans, and MAGA Supporters who love their Great State and Country to sign this initiative, ASAP.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Elizabeth Rasmussen of Better Boundaries speaks at a news conference in Salt Lake City on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. A judge earlier ruled that the Legislature will have 30 days to adopt new maps that comply with the 2018 Better Boundaries initiative guidelines.
Based on the Better Boundaries poll results, even if Republicans get the Proposition 4 repeal in front of voters, it could be in trouble.
The poll conducted by Embold Research, a national polling firm, found that 57% of those surveyed — including 47% of Republicans — oppose repealing Proposition 4 and the Legislature implementing its own map.
When Proposition 4 passed in 2018, it did so by fewer than 7,000 votes — a margin of less than 1%.
Seventy-one percent of those surveyed believe the state needs neutral, independent redistricting standards, compared to 16% who disagree.
Embold Research surveyed 1,731 registered voters from Jan. 12-15. The poll has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.
“We don’t need to spin or hype these numbers,” said Elizabeth Rasmussen, 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.”
But Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, said Monday that Proposition 4 narrowly passed in 2018, and it makes sense, in the wake of the court battle, to let voters weigh in on it again.
“I quite honestly think it will be a lot closer than [the poll indicates], at least when I talk to people in my area,” Sandall said. “The cleanest way [to resolve it] is going back to the people.”