Salt Lake County District Judge Dianna Gibson ordered Utah lawmakers to redraw the state's congressional map immediately to comply with voter-approved standards and denied a request to delay her ruling. The current map used in 2022 and 2024 removed a swing Salt Lake City-area district and produced four Republican-favoring districts that include parts of the urban corridor. Gibson rejected the claim that a one-month deadline is too short, noting that redistricting has been completed under tighter timelines elsewhere. She cited recent actions in Texas and California and noted broader partisan mid-decade efforts aimed at influencing the 2026 elections.
Utah lawmakers were wrong to disregard an independent commission's map in drawing one that has been used for the 2022 and 2024 elections, Salt Lake County District Judge Dianna Gibson ruled Aug. 25. The map did away with a district in the Salt Lake City area that has swung between Republicans and Democrats in favor of a map where four districts, each with a piece of the urban corridor, have been won by Republicans with wide margins.
While the timelines here are short, redistricting has been accomplished under tighter timelines in other cases, Gibson wrote in her ruling. In Texas, she pointed out, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott recently approved a redistricting plan at President Donald Trump's urging that will likely add five Republicans to the U.S. House. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has responded with an effort to add five Democratic districts to that state.
Collection
[
|
...
]