Utah redistricting initiative to repeal Proposition 4 will not be on the ballot after voters withdraw their signatures
A Utah initiative to repeal Proposition 4, which created the state's Independent Redistricting Commission, will not be on the ballot this year. While supporters originally submitted more than 200,000 signatures, and the lieutenant governor verified more than 160,000 of them, enough voters requested that their signatures be removed from the petition to ultimately disqualify the initiative.
The initiative's sponsors needed to submit a number of signatures meeting two criteria to put it on the ballot:
- A total number equal to 8% of the state's active voters, or 140,748.
- 8% of active voters in each of 26 of Utah's 29 Senate districts
Utah allows voters who signed an initiative petition to withdraw their signatures within 45 days of the submission of the petition sheet to county clerks.
While supporters originally met the 8% requirement in 26 Senate districts, voters in Senate District 15 have removed enough signatures to drop below the district requirement.
Kansas becomes the 33rd state to enact a K-12 cellphone ban
On March 20, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) signed a bill enacting a statewide ban on cellphones in K-12 schools.
The ban applies to all public and nonpublic accredited schools and prohibits the use of cellphones during the school day, commonly referred to as a bell-to-bell ban. School boards and governing authorities of accredited nonpublic schools must submit a certification to the Kansas Board of Education by Sept. 1 that they have adopted cellphone policies in accordance with the bill.
Kansas is the 33rd state to enact a K-12 cellphone ban and the fifth to do so in 2026. The 33 states that limit student cellphone use either bar students from using their cellphones in class or during the entire school day.
15 deepfake bills enacted so far this year, number of states with deepfake laws remains the same
So far this year, state lawmakers have enacted 15 bills addressing deepfakes. Since 2019, 47 states have adopted laws that deal with deepfakes, with no change in that total since 2025. The three states without such laws are Alaska, Missouri, and Ohio.
Deepfakes are videos, images, or audio files that have been generated or manipulated by artificial intelligence in order to realistically portray something that did not actually occur.
We started our AI Deepfake Legislation Tracker in 2024 to help readers stay up to date on deepfake legislation in all 50 states.
Most states have enacted multiple laws addressing deepfakes. California has enacted the most deepfake laws since 2019, with 21 bills.
The number of states with laws regulating political deepfakes has increased from 28 to 31 this year, with Maine, Tennessee, and Vermont enacting new laws.