Utah Court Rules on District Redrawing Before 2026 Elections

3rd district court judge Dianna Gibson ruled that the Utah legislature will have to redraw the districts before the next election cycle in 2026. The new districts will have to be created without party influence. 

In the ruling, Jude Gibson said, “The nature of the violation lies in the Legislature’s refusal to respect the people’s exercise of their constitutional lawmaking power and to honor the people’s right to reform their government.” 

This will have to be carried out before September 24, ruled Judge Gibson. It will have to follow the boundaries of a citizen proposition back in 2018 called “Better Boundaries” that would create an independent redistribution commission. They would draft and recommend maps to the state legislature 

The current map divides Salt Lake County into four districts, creating the image that each district has a slice of Salt Lake. The new maps could create districts that separate the urban and rural areas. Some lawmakers argue that this allows House members to represent a diverse group of people, but others argue that it cuts out voices in democracy 

According to Gibson, the Utah legislature ignored the independent commission and created a map that addressed the initial concerns of a gerrymandered Utah. 

Utah Republicans initially said they would comply with the ruling, but later asked Gibson to pause her verdict so that they would have time to appeal the decision to the Utah Supreme Court.   

Following the ruling, Sen. Mike Lee said on X, “Almost anything promoted as an ‘independent commission’ is often a strategy to give Democrats an edge they can’t win through fair elections.” 

The long-term importance of this ruling also puts Utah on the national stage with a country-wide district battle that started with five seats in Texas, which spurred an equivalent measure by California to create a proposition that would allow them to make five seats competitive for Democrats. Utah has unwillingly joined this competition, and other states could follow.

Prop 4 in 2018 was 512,218 to 505,274, a narrow race that was backed by Better Boundaries, a PAC that, according to their website, had the “goal of ending gerrymandering through citizen-led reform.” The Utah legislature approved the proposition. 

In 2020, SB200 altered the original proposal, enabling the Utah legislature to establish its own committee and create the maps without explanation.   

In 2022, the Utah League of Women Voters and the Mormon Women for Ethical Government sued, leading to a Supreme Court decision in 2024 that stated the Utah State legislature could not overrule the people’s right to reform its laws. government.   

The case was then dropped to the third district court, and Gibson made the final ruling. 

She stated, “How district lines are drawn can either safeguard representation and ensure accountability by elected representatives or erode public trust, silence voices, and weaken the rule of law.”