Utah’s Republican Party is writing a plot twist into the last act of the state’s redistricting case.

As a deadline approaches to firm up boundaries for 2026, the Utah GOP launched a push Tuesday to block a map proposed by the Legislature and repeal a 2018 redistricting law.

The map from lawmakers is the least competitive for Democrats out of four options they considered after a judge struck down boundaries they drew in 2021, saying they came about unconstitutionally.

Lawmakers’ proposed map was also endorsed by the Utah GOP just two weeks ago. But on Tuesday, Chairman Rob Axson filed a petition with Utah’s elections office for a referendum asking voters to reject the plan. Per state code, a group has 30 days to gather signatures from 8% of Utah voters — about 140,000 — including 8

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