Judge orders Utah lawmakers to redraw congressional maps
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A Utah judge on Monday ordered state lawmakers to draw new congressional boundaries, handing a major victory to anti-gerrymandering advocates in the years-long battle over the state's redistricting process.
Why it matters: If a new congressional map is configured, it has the potential to turn some reliably Republican seats into competitive districts.
State of play: State lawmakers now face a Sept. 24 deadline to redraw and enact a map that complies with "the mandatory redistricting standards and requirements" outlined in Proposition 4, an anti-gerrymandering ballot initiative narrowly approved by voters in 2018, Judge Dianna Gibson wrote in her Monday ruling.
The big picture: The decision comes as Texas and California pursue mid-decade redistricting in the fight to consolidate political power ahead of the 2026 elections.
Context: Proposition 4 created an independent redistricting commission to redraw congressional boundaries and state legislative districts.
Catch up quickly: The GOP-controlled Utah Legislature passed a measure, SB 200, in 2020, reducing the commission's role to merely advisory.
- Lawmakers in 2021 rejected the commission's maps and drew new ones that cracked blue-leaning Salt Lake County into all four of the state's congressional districts.
- The League of Women Voters of Utah and other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit, challenging the legislature-approved maps as an "extreme partisan gerrymander" that dilutes Democratic votes in the state's most populous county.
- Last July, a Utah Supreme Court ruling clarified that lawmakers can amend government-reform ballot initiatives that voters pass — but the changes cannot "impair" the reform and sent the case to a lower court.
Zoom in: The districts created by the state legislature in 2021 "cannot lawfully govern future elections in Utah," per the latest ruling.
- SB 200 "unconstitutionally impaired the people's fundamental constitutional right to pass legislation to reform how redistricting is accomplished in Utah," Gibson wrote.
What they're saying: "Finally, despite the best efforts of the legislative supermajority, Utahns will be getting fair maps and real representation, something they voted for nearly eight years ago," Utah Democratic Party chair and former Utah House Majority Leader Brian King said in a statement Monday night.
The other side: In a joint statement, Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz said they were "disappointed" by Monday's decision.
- "We remain committed to protecting the voices of Utahns and upholding the legislature's state and federal constitutional authority to draw congressional districts. We will carefully review the ruling and consider our next steps," they said.
Friction point: Attorneys representing legislative leaders have previously signaled they may appeal the court decision to the Utah Supreme Court or even the U.S. Supreme Court, according to Utah News Dispatch.
- That could obstruct the timeline to have a new map in place for the 2026 midterms, per the Associated Press.
What's next: A status conference has been scheduled for Aug. 29.