Initially brought into the state to collect signatures against an anti-gerrymandering law, several petitioners claim they are now "stranded" and left "high and dry" by the Utah GOP, according to a report from ABC4 News.
The petitioners documented in the report were hired by the GOP-affiliated campaigning organization, Patriot Grassroots, to collect signatures in favor of repealing Proposition 4, a 2018 ballot initiative that established an independent redistricting commission in Utah to avoid partisan gerrymandering. President Donald Trump has pressured Republican leaders in red states, like Utah, to redistrict their states more heavily in favor of GOP candidates and help the party hold the House majority in 2026.
One of the petitioners who spoke to ABC4, Tom Ellerman of Minnesota, said that he did "a good 22 hours to drive through the Rockies" to get to Moab, Utah, where he had been assigned to collect signatures. He also claimed to have "burned through the money I had to get here."
Ellerman said he was advised that he would not need a bank account to get paid for the job, and that paper checks were an option. However, he was later told that they "would not be able to let [him] work" without a bank account, which he was not comfortable opening in a new state.
"[They] just left me high and dry," Ellerman said. “My word is my bond. I’m there when I say I’m going to be there, ready to do the job. I was, and I was let down."
"If I have to have a bank account, I should have been told that," he added.
Ellerman said that he has been living out of his car since being let go, surviving off food provided by local church groups and homeless shelters.
Another petitioner, who asked to be referred to as "David," claimed Patriot Grassroots "promised us a $500 bonus if we arrived on time on the 11th," but as of Tuesday, none of the petitioners had received such a bonus. He also claimed to have received only $200 for the work of gathering petitions, with no reimbursement for travel or housing expenses.
“That doesn’t even cover my gas to get out here,” David said. “Several of us are now stranded with no funds to get home safely.”
"Carmen," another petitioner who requested a pseudonym, claimed that they "haven’t been reimbursed for nothing."
"I had to borrow money just to survive," Carmen said.
Patriot Grassroots, in statements to ABC4, denied any wrongdoing and seemed to put the blame on the petitioners for their predicaments.
"Any reports suggesting that workers, who have actually done their jobs and not committed fraud or violated our code of conduct, have been left unpaid or stranded are not true,” the organization said. "Any person or publication asserting that we abandoned or failed to pay workers for work they completed would be making false, defamatory, and legally actionable claims. Such statements cause real harm, and we will defend our company’s good reputation."
The group further claimed that Ellerman had exhibited "erratic" behavior and had arrived in Utah with an expired license. Ellerman confirmed that his ID had expired, but also showed ABC4 a renewal receipt with a 2029 expiration date, which he claimed the organization did not allow him to show before he was fired.
“It’s getting to the point where it’s unmanageable. I need to find shelter,” Ellerman said. “To be put in a position like this is unfathomable, especially around the holidays... I find it horrendous, to treat human beings in that fashion.”