Outrage as red state Republicans accused of deceiving voters with fake petition claims

Utah voters are coming forward to allege that Republican operatives are lying to trick people into signing a petition to put repeal of the state's anti-gerrymandering law on the ballot, reported The Salt Lake Tribune on Friday.

It's the latest saga in a years-long war the Utah GOP has fought over Proposition 4, which was passed by voters in 2018. Proposition 4, also known as the Better Boundaries Initiative, was used earlier this year to strike down the legislature's congressional map that denied Democrats a seat by carving up Salt Lake County into several pieces.

Several Utahns came forward to tell reporters about the underhanded tactics allegedly used to trick them into signing the petition, when they in fact support Proposition 4.

Erin Ruzek and her sister, for instance, detailed how two men accosted them in Park City and falsely claimed to them the petition was "to show your support for Judge [Dianna] Gibson," the state judge who struck down the congressional gerrymander.

College campuses are also being targeted. Utah Valley University student Trinity Block alleged that one signature gatherer followed her, blocked the doorway to her classroom, and "wouldn’t let me go past until I signed this thing," while falsely claiming to her that it was just an inventory of registered voters instead of a petition to certify Proposition 4 repeal for the ballot. And University of Utah student Jessie Whitehead told her a man tricked her and a friend into signing it, saying “we want to give fair redistricting back to the people” — the exact opposite of the petition's purpose.

“I feel like they took advantage of me almost, because I’m a student and not totally involved in the news constantly,” she said.

After the GOP gerrymander was struck down, the legislature made threats to impeach Judge Gibson, drew a "remedial" map that split Salt Lake County fewer times but still created zero Democratic-leaning districts, and passed a law creating new redistricting rules that would effectively nullify Proposition 4. Gibson also struck all of this down, implementing a more compact map with a Democratic district in Salt Lake City, proposed by the Utah League of Women Voters.