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A judge this week ordered Utah lawmakers to draw a new congressional map, delivering a win for Democrats and reminding state legislators across the country that they don't get the only say on political boundaries.
The ruling to redraw Utah's map in the next month comes as Republicans and Democrats in several states prepare to redraw districts to maximize their chances of winning U.S. House seats in next year's midterm elections. Ordinarily, states draw maps once every 10 years after the census, and having half a dozen states redraw them in the middle of the decade purely for political gain is unprecedented.
Republicans, who control more state legislatures and have fewer restrictions on gerrymandering, are thought by experts and political insiders to hold the advantage in the competition for favorable seats.
The roots of Utah's redistricting fight stretch back seven years. In 2018, voters placed an initiative on the ballot requiring the state to draw lines neutrally. Voters approved the measure, but two years later GOP state lawmakers repealed it and replaced it with a law that gave them more leeway on how to draw lines. They adopted a map in 2021, and all four of the state's congressional seats are now held by Republicans.
Voters sued, and state District Judge Dianna Gibson ruled Monday that lawmakers had improperly drawn the map. Their repeal of the voter-backed initiative and imposition of their map, she wrote, violated the state constitution because it interfered with "the people's fundamental right to reform redistricting in Utah and to prohibit gerrymandering."
Gibson, who was appointed to the bench by a Republican governor, ordered the GOP-dominated legislature to draw a new map by Sept. 24 that adheres to the redistricting standards established by the 2018 voter initiative. Those who brought the lawsuit can submit alternative maps for the court to consider if the legislature does not adopt a new map or adopts one that the plaintiffs believe does not follow the rules, the judge wrote.
A new map would limit how Salt Lake City and other communities could be carved up, which would likely give Democrats a shot at winning one of the state's congressional districts.
In a statement, Republican legislative leaders said they were disappointed with the ruling but did not specify whether they would appeal it.
The Utah ruling offers a warning to partisans in other states that the redistricting battle they are engaged in is risky. Texas Republicans last week approved a map at the behest of President Donald Trump that would give them up to five more GOP seats in the U.S. House. California Democrats retaliated by drawing a map that would provide them with up to five more seats for their party; to go into effect, that map will need the approval of voters in a special election this fall.
Several other red and blue states are considering drawing new maps as well. Republicans now control the U.S. House 219-212 with four vacancies, and changes to how a handful of maps are drawn could be enough to decide who wins a majority next year.
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