Utah judge orders redrawing of congressional districts

Utah Judge Dianna Gibson ruled Monday that the state’s map of congressional districts must be redrawn before the 2026 midterm election. A group including the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government, alleged the most recent map, adopted in 2021, was gerrymandered and drawn for partisan GOP gain. The plaintiffs argued that the map unfairly divided Salt Lake County, a Democratic hub, and illegally diluted the Democratic vote across four Republican majority districts.

The issue stemmed back to a 2018 ballot measure approved by voters that required legislators to vote on congressional map changes, along with other guardrails, like a ban on gerrymandering. Legislators later passed in 2020 a full ban on partisan gerrymandering and removed the required legislative vote for approving congressional maps drawn by independent commissions.

Gibson sided with the plaintiffs, ruling that legislators intentionally weakened the reforms that voters passed in 2018. Because lawmakers unconditionally repealed the ballot measure, the state can’t move forward with the current congressional map that violates the appeals directly approved by citizens, according to the order.

These boundaries determine the meaning of a vote and ensure elected officials are held accountable, according to the order. How districts are drawn can either protect the representation of different political communities or erode public trust, she added. Gibson ordered lawmakers to revise the map within the next month, using guidelines approved by voters in 2018.

How does this fit into the other states battling over congressional maps? Utah is one of several states making partisan changes to congressional maps to help parties gain more seats in the House of Representatives.

Texas: The state Senate approved a new congressional map with a Saturday vote and sent the measure to Gov. Greg Abbott for final approval. President Donald Trump called on Texas lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional map to favor republican legislators. The new map creates five new districts in predominantly Republican areas.

California: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed off on a state referendum last week, allowing voters to decide in November whether to adopt a new pro-Democrat congressional map. California’s new map aimed to create five new democratic majority districts to neutralize any GOP seats won from the Texas redistricting.

What other states are considering redistricting efforts?

• New York: Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she and New York state legislators would also respond to Texas with redrawn maps favoring Democrats.

• Illinois: Gov. J.B. Pritzker has suggested he might do the same.

• Maryland Gov. Wes Moore most recently threatened to redraw congressional districts in his state after sparring with President Trump over National Guard deployments and crime-reduction policy.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report on the practice of gerrymandering in the states and why there aren’t as many restrictions against the practice at the state level.