Tribune editorial: Utah lawmakers take a hypocritical turn in their drive to undermine Better Boundaries initiative

Utah is having a Captain Renault moment.

Those atop our political class are shocked — shocked! — to see that out-of-state money, interest groups and migrant labor might be mobilized to promote efforts to change the state’s laws.

So upset are the leaders of the Utah Republican Party and the GOP-controlled Legislature that they have lately been busy importing out-of-state money, interest groups and migrant labor in an effort to repeal a law they not only don’t like but have also done everything possible to avoid obeying.

And keeping an absolutely straight face about it the whole hypocritical time.

At the center of all this is Proposition 4, aka the Better Boundaries Initiative. That’s the ballot measure passed by Utah voters in 2018 that mandated that the state’s congressional and legislative districts be drawn based on recommendations from an independent, nonpartisan commission. That the process follows rules that include making boundaries compact, keeping communities of interest together and not giving an advantage to any political party.

Following Prop 4 rules, the most Utah Republicans stood to lose would be one of the state’s four congressional districts — 25% of the seats in a state where Democratic candidates generally draw more than 30% of the vote. GOP control of the Legislature, both U.S. Senate seats and all statewide offices would not be threatened.

But that wasn’t good enough for legislative leaders, who busied themselves passing laws and drawing congressional districts that blatantly ignored Prop 4 and left their favored incumbents protected.

Better Boundaries supporters, led by the Utah League of Women Voters and the Mormon Women for Ethical Government, properly hauled the Legislature into court to demand that the state obey the law as mandated by the voters. They won. Over and over.

Eventually, District Court Judge Dianna Gibson, following the clear mandates laid down by the Utah Supreme Court, threw out the Legislature’s map of congressional districts and chose one proposed by Prop 4 supporters.

The argument that the map was “drawn by an unelected judge” is false. The judge did not draw any maps. She picked one proposal that followed the rules to replace one that didn’t.

Our legislative leaders dislike the whole idea of ballot initiatives or referendums because it takes power away from the narrow political class, people often selected by a handful of convention delegates in gerrymandered legislative districts, and gives it back to the people at large. People who, according to the Utah Constitution, have a right to a say in the legislative process.

Legislative leaders claim that Utah threatens to become just another California, inundated by flocks of ballot initiatives promoted by shadowy groups or out-of-state interests. This argument is also false, as the requirements for getting a measure on the Utah ballot are much more stringent than the rules in California.

Supporters of unchecked legislative power aren’t above using the initiative process to their own advantage, however. Something they are now attempting to do by circulating a petition of their own. A new initiative called the Repeal of Independent Redistricting Commission and Standards Act.

To get the 141,000 signatures they need by Valentine’s Day to put their move to flat repeal Prop 4 onto the 2026 ballot, Utah Republicans have accepted, so far, $4.3 million from a Donald Trump-aligned, out-of-state dark money group called Securing American Greatness. (It’s called “dark money” because it is one of those outfits that don’t have to tell anyone who is funding them.)

The campaign is hiring people to walk the streets seeking signatures for what might properly be called the Bogus Boundaries Initiative.

As is the case with any such drive, there is no guarantee that those carrying the petitions will accurately describe — or even know anything about — what the proposed initiative would actually do. But, given how much the anti-Prop 4 activists mischaracterize everything, a high degree of skepticism is in order.

Prop 4 passed narrowly in 2018. But more recent polling indicates that only 15% of voters want the Legislature to have the sole power to draw congressional and legislative districts. Everyone else favors the existence of an independent panel to either draw the boundaries or advise lawmakers on the process.

Utah would be better off if this particular petition drive fizzled and our elected officials were told, again, to follow the law, and the will of the people, and keep Proposition 4 in place once and for all.

Editorials represent the opinions of The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board, which operates independently from the newsroom.