Making Sense of Prop 4

It is easy—very easy—to get lost in trying to understand Prop 4. Voters approved Utah's Prop 4 by a very narrow margin in 2018, with 512,218 (50.34%) voting for the proposition, and 505,274 (49.66%) voting against it.

A razor‑thin margin, but Prop 4 won just the same.

Two federal elections have since taken place under the Legislature’s 2021 map. Both failed to use the map recommended by the Prop 4 Independent Redistricting Commission. You can't say they were illegal elections, because it is more layered than that, but you can say the map used was later found unconstitutional. The Constitution does give the Legislature the right to draw the maps, but it doesn't give it the right to gerrymander—to draw lines to accommodate one party over the other. It gives the courts the right to step in and require equity of judgment.

And that's what Judge Diane Gibson did in October 2025 when she stepped in and ruled in favor of the map drawn by the Better Boundaries commission. Now, those opposed to Prop 4 are marching door‑to‑door to get a measure on the ballot ending Prop 4.


(Blog)