Utah ballot measure to legalize partisan gerrymanders fails after signature removal campaign

By Jen Rice

FILE -Rep. Cory Maloy, R-Lehi, holds a packet of potential redistricting maps as SB1012 Congressional Boundaries Designation is discussed in the House chamber during a special session at the Capitol on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Kristin Murphy/The Deseret News via AP, File)

A pro-voting signature removal campaign has managed to derail Republican plans to legalize partisan gerrymanders in Utah, multiple media outlets reported.

The state Republican Party had gathered more than 160,000 signatures to put the measure, which would repeal the state’s gerrymandering ban, on the 2026 ballot. But the Republican canvassing firm the state GOP hired to gather signatures faced accusations of tricking Utahns into signing the petition.

In response, Better Boundaries, a group opposing the repeal measure, launched a campaign to help Utahns remove their signatures — and eventually succeeded in pushing the ballot measure back under the required threshold to be sent to voters. 

In a statement to Deseret News, Utah Republican Party chair Rob Axson said their fight to repeal the gerrymandering ban “is not over but just beginning.” 

“We have significant concerns about the practices utilized by the opposition and continue to review the signature validation and removal process,” Axson said.

Republicans have been hellbent on repealing the voter-approved gerrymandering ban ever since courts struck down Utah’s congressional map, clearing the way for Democrats to potentially win one of the state’s four House seats. 

The GOP paid the firm Patriot Grassroots $4.3 million to lead a signature gathering effort to repeal the ban, but later terminated the contract after the firm faced allegations of submitting fraudulent signatures and misleading voters.

Initially, it appeared that would derail the GOP campaign.. Then, at the last moment, Republicans turned in more than 163,000 signatures by the deadline. The ballot measure also cleared the district-level signature requirement, gathering enough signatures in 26 out of 29 state senate districts. 

But that wasn’t the end of the story.

In its signature removal campaign, Better Boundaries began sending voters letters with prepaid postage to help make removal easier and effectively free.

In response, the GOP sued the pro-voting group, arguing it had violated state law by including prepaid postage. Just before the legislature gaveled out for the session, Republicans passed an eleventh-hour law invalidating signature removals submitted using prepaid postage.