by Ben Whedon
The Utah GOP this weekend confirmed that the party had secured enough signatures to advance a ballot initiative that would eliminate the state’s independent redistricting commission.
State GOP Chairman Robert Axson (pictured above) on Sunday confirmed in a video that the party had met the threshold to get the initiative on the ballot.
“We get to decide come November what we want to see moving forward in Utah. That’s the way it should be,” he said.
He further stated that the effort had secured “well over 200,000 signatures.”
The measure will not affect the Utah congressional maps in the 2026 midterms, but its success could result in the eventual elimination of a Democratic district that emerged due to a court order.
Like Utah, numerous states across America have adjusted their congressional maps, including California, Missouri and Texas.
California and Texas both had their new congressional maps challenged in court. The Supreme Court upheld California’s new congressional map and allowed Texas to use its new congressional map this year.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed a lawsuit against Missouri’s new congressional map. The court case is still being litigated.
Other states, such as Indiana and Kansas, attempted to adopt new congressional maps but lacked sufficient support.
Last week, the Virginia Legislature passed a new congressional map that favored Democrats 10 to 1.
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Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
Photo “Rob Axson” by Rob Axson.
