The Utah Republican Party’s shock announcement on Tuesday that they were launching a massive signature-gathering effort to block the new congressional map passed by lawmakers last week and, separately, repeal the state’s anti-gerrymandering law has been in the works for several weeks.
Party Chairman Rob Axson tells Utah Political Watch he’s been quietly working to build financial support for “3+ weeks” before going public.
“For the last three or four weeks, I have been engaged in building the needed support and funding to get started,” Axson said in a text message. “I’m grateful for the support of many partners and allies who are supporting this Utah-driven effort.”
For both efforts to be successful, the party must collect at a minimum more than 200,000 signatures from registered voters by Nov. 15.
- A referendum targeting the court-ordered new congressional map needs at least 134,000 signatures statewide, as well as signatures from 8% of registered voters in 15 of Utah’s 29 state Senate districts.
- An indirect initiative to put a repeal of Proposition 4, the voter approved anti-gerrymandering initiative, on the agenda for lawmakers during the 2026 legislative session requires 70,000 signatures statewide, plus signatures from 4% of active voters in 26 of Utah’s 29 state Senate districts.
To climb that steep hill, the party has contracted with Patriot Grassroots, a Republican-aligned firm that worked with Elon Musk’s America PAC to canvass for Donald Trump’s campaign in Pennsylvania and Georgia ahead of the 2024 election.
"The Country and PRESIDENT TRUMP need your help to SAVE Utah," screams a job posting from Patriot Grassroots—the same firm that helped Elon Musk's America PAC canvass for Trump in swing states. The appeal to Trump loyalty reveals the party's strategy: frame the redistricting fight as a national MAGA cause.
According to the job posting, canvassers who travel to Utah for the job will be paid $40 per hour if they work 6 hours or more, and $30 per hour if they work under 6 hours per day. Paid canvassers from Utah can earn $26 and $20 if they meet those requirements.
Paying signature gatherers for an initiative or referendum effort is an expensive undertaking. In 2021, Utah lawmakers banned companies from paying signature gatherers based on the number of signatures they collect. Now, signature gatherers can only be paid on an hourly rate.
The successful referendum effort earlier this year targeting HB267, the so-called “union busting” bill passed by lawmakers, cost organizers at least $1.5 million.
Axson would not say how much money he has raised or plans to raise to fund the petition effort for the referendum and the indirect initiative efforts, only that it would be “enough to be confident in taking the action.” Axson says the party also plans to use volunteers as part of the signature gathering effort.
Plaintiffs sue to block Prop. 4 repeal
On Thursday morning, lawyers for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit over Prop. 4 asked a judge to block the indirect initiative effort from the Utah GOP that seeks to repeal Prop. 4.
Lawyers for the League of Women Voters Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government argue that the court already ruled that the direct repeal of Prop. 4 in 2020 by the Utah Legislature was unconstitutional, and the Republican-led indirect seeks to accomplish the same result through a different mechanism.
“A statutory procedure cannot subvert the People's constitutional rights. Four percent of the public, together with the Legislature, cannot repeal a government reform initiative adopted by majority vote,” they argued in the filing.
They’ve asked the court to block Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson from approving the indirect initiative application or from issuing petition sheets.
