Judge Tosses Utah GOP Map Over ‘Partisan Gerrymandering,’ Orders Districts Redrawn

A Utah judge threw a wrench into the Republican Party’s plan for a clean sweep of the state’s congressional seats on Monday, striking down the GOP-drawn map as illegal.

District Court Judge Dianna Gibson ruled that Utah’s congressional map, adopted in 2021, must be redrawn because the GOP-controlled legislature violated voter-approved safeguards against “partisan gerrymandering” when creating the map. The ruling is the latest in the escalating national redistricting battle, as both Democrats and Republicans vie for additional congressional seats ahead of the 2026 midterms.

“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,” Gibson said in the ruling.

Voters approved a ballot initiative in 2018 that created an independent redistricting body, but lawmakers passed S.B. 200 in 2020, making the commission’s role merely advisory, according to the Utah News Dispatch. When the 2020 census data arrived, the Legislature ignored the commission’s proposal and drew its own map, the outlet reported.

“Plaintiffs have proven, as a matter of law, that the Legislature unconstitutionally repealed Proposition 4 and enacted S.B. 200, in violation of the people’s fundamental right to reform redistricting in Utah and to prohibit partisan gerrymandering,” Gibson wrote in the ruling.

The ruling gives lawmakers until Sept. 24 to deliver new maps. Voting rights groups that brought the lawsuit will also be allowed to submit proposals for the court to review.

An independent redraw of Utah’s four congressional districts could make one seat competitive for Democrats, according to Politico. But GOP leaders are expected to appeal, and potentially stall the process, possibly until 2028.

“Once again, certain members of Utah’s judiciary abandon the principles of our Constitutional Republic,” Utah GOP Chairman Robert Axon said in a statement. “Using earlier flawed rulings to justify their opinions over the principles of our founding is a special kind of hubris — Judicial Activism in Action!”

The Utah GOP did not respond to the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for further comment.

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah voiced similar concerns in a statement following the ruling.

“The Utah courts are now invalidating both the legislature’s amendments and Utah’s existing congressional-district maps, even though nothing in the Utah Constitution compels that result, and in fact Article IX of the Utah Constitution *requires* legislative districts to be drawn by the *legislature*,” Lee posted on X. “This is a great day for Utah’s Democrats — who haven’t controlled the Utah legislature in many, many decades (because most Utah voters don’t like what the Democratic Party is selling), and have found a clever way to even the score by enlisting the help of their judicial allies.”

State Democrats, on the other hand, heralded the ruling as a victory for voters and an opportunity to hold Republicans accountable.

“Finally, despite the best efforts of the legislative supermajority, Utahns will be getting fair maps and real representation, something they voted for nearly eight years ago,” Utah Democratic Party chair Brian King said in a statement. “Utah Democrats are ready to hit the ground running next year, and we look forward to holding Republicans accountable to their constituents in these new, fairly-drawn districts.”

A nationwide redistricting fight began after Texas Republicans proposed — and ultimately approved — a new congressional map that could give their party five additional congressional seats. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrats followed by passing a trio of bills that will allow for a November special election to redraw their maps.

California voters in November must approve transferring redistricting authority from the state’s constitutionally mandated independent commission to the state Legislature. Several Republican state lawmakers have sued to block Democrats from moving forward with redistricting.

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