Judge Dianna Gibson just tossed out Utah’s current congressional map, giving the Republican-led state legislature until September 24 to submit a new one. This ruling is a big deal and could have a huge impact, especially in the larger fight over gerrymandering that’s happening across the country right now.
Utah’s current map, which was adopted in 2021, splits up Salt Lake City. Salt Lake is a major Democratic area and is split among all four of the state’s congressional districts. That essentially dilutes the city resident voters’ power and has led to Republicans winning all four seats by a wide margin. According to The Guardian, a new, redrawn map could consolidate more of the city into a single district, which would make a lot more sense in representing the residents.
While the ruling might come as a surprise, it stems from a long legal battle over a 2018 ballot initiative called Proposition 4. This initiative was designed to ban partisan gerrymandering and create an independent redistricting commission. However, the Republican-controlled legislature weakened the commission and went ahead and drew its own map anyway.
Utah is fighting to make a fairer democratic map
Even though this ruling is a victory for those who want fairer maps, it’s not a done deal just yet. The state legislature’s lawyers have already asked Judge Gibson to pause her order so lawmakers can appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President J. Stuart Adams released a joint statement where they called the ruling “misguided” and the 30-day deadline “unreasonable”.
The statement read, “While we will continue to pursue every legal option available – including requesting a stay from the Utah Supreme Court if necessary – we will attempt to redistrict under these unprecedented constraints, consistent with our oath to represent the best interests of Utah.”
This whole situation in Utah is an interesting contrast to what’s happening in other states. For example, Donald Trump has been openly pushing for Texas to redraw its maps to gain five additional Republican House seats. In response, California lawmakers are trying to get voters to approve new maps to “neutralize” Texas’s moves. This is a full-blown “national arms race” over redistricting. Mark Gaber, an attorney representing the groups challenging Utah’s congressional maps, called the ruling a “vindication of a fair and neutral process”.
Mark Gaber, an attorney representing the groups that challenged the map said, “The voters passed this in 2018 to effectively ban partisan gerrymandering and now we’re seeing a push across the country to gerrymander. It’s nice to see this standing out as a shining example of a process that can work.”
This kind of mid-decade redistricting is pretty rare. The stakes are high, with the balance of power in Congress on the line. With Trump’s approval ratings low and Democrats outperforming expectations in recent elections, a single seat could make all the difference. That makes the prospect of a Democratic pickup in Utah all the more worrying for the president.
