Utah judge orders legislature to redraw congressional maps in time for midterms

A judge ordered the Utah legislature on Monday to redraw its congressional maps in time for next year’s midterm elections, finding the state legislature unlawfully gerrymandered its districts in favor of Republicans.

Judge Dianna Gibson said in a 76-page order that the legislature must pass a “remedial congressional map” by the end of September. State lawmakers have already signaled they plan to appeal, meaning the case is likely headed for the Utah Supreme Court and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gibson’s order comes after a fight between two of the country’s largest states, Texas and California, thrust gerrymandering into the national spotlight. Gerrymandering is the practice of changing the boundaries of a congressional district in a state to benefit one political party, which critics say dilutes votes.

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The lawsuit in Utah arose from redistricting changes that began in 2018. Utah voters passed Proposition 4, also known as the “Better Boundaries” initiative, that year to reform the redistricting process and create an independent commission to oversee it.

But the state legislature passed a bill two years later that overrode that measure and stripped the commission of its power by reducing it to an advisory body. Lawmakers then bypassed the commission entirely by drawing congressional maps seen as strongly favoring Republicans.

The new map split Salt Lake City four ways, which voting rights groups, including the League of Women Voters of Utah and the Mormon Women for Ethical Government, alleged illegally broke up the state’s only blue-leaning urban region in violation of the standards set forth by Proposition 4.

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Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, warned Monday ahead of Gibson’s ruling that “almost anything promoted as an ‘independent commission’ is often a strategy to give Democrats an edge they can’t win through fair elections.”

“We the people need to halt this trend. To do so, we must first grasp what these independent commissions truly represent,” Lee wrote in a lengthy X post. “In a state like Utah, they’re essentially a mechanism for the left to grab power they can’t get through democratic elections.”

Utah’s redistricting dispute comes after Texas’ legislature passed new maps this month that give Republicans an advantage in the upcoming midterms. President Donald Trump encouraged the move and celebrated it as a “BIG WIN,” while state Democrats temporarily fled the state in protest over the new map.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, responded to what he said was a Trump-led power grab by advancing a hasty plan to suspend his own state’s map, drawn by an independent commission, and pass a new one in a special election this year to offset Republicans’ gains in Texas. In a press conference, Newsom said Democrats need to “play hardball” to stand a chance against a Republican Party led by Trump. Trump vowed on Monday to sue Newsom over the map.