Judge tosses Utah’s congressional districts and orders the state to redraw its maps

Utah will need to redraw its congressional maps.

Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson ruled the Legislature unconstitutionally disregarded the intent of voters and that the congressional maps lawmakers created are unlawful.

“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 by enacting redistricting legislation,” Gibson wrote in her 76-page ruling released Monday night.

The years-in-the-making ruling comes in the middle of a nationwide redistricting war between Democrats and Republicans, led by the country’s two most populous states, Texas and California.

Maps are usually only redrawn once a decade following the national census. Still, President Donald Trump prodded Republican states to adjust district lines to give the GOP an edge in the upcoming 2026 midterms, a practice known as partisan gerrymandering. In response, Texas Republican lawmakers approved a new congressional map to try to give the GOP five more U.S. House seats.

California Democrats are seeking to counter Texas’s move. State lawmakers approved a similar plan to redraw their maps to give Democrats a better shot at five additional seats. However, unlike Texas, California’s map will need to be approved by voters in a November special election.

This ruling from Judge Gibson means Utah’s congressional districts will get a shakeup. Gibson gave the Legislature until Sept. 24 to produce new maps that comply with the anti-gerrymandering standards citizens passed.

It is a huge victory for the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government, the plaintiffs in the case. Standing on the steps of Salt Lake City's Matheson Courthouse immediately after the ruling was published, the plaintiffs were ecstatic.

Emma Petty Addams, co-executive director of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, called it a win “for every Utahn who believes that government should serve the people.”

“The court today reaffirmed that citizens have both the right and the responsibility to reform unjust systems, and that this right cannot be discarded by elected officials for their own political convenience,” Petty Addams said.

To state leaders, she said, “The people have spoken. The courts have spoken. Now is time to move forward with cooperation and respect for the rule of law.”

Their attorney, David Reymann, called it a “watershed moment in Utah for the voices of Utah voters."

Utahns approved the anti-gerrymandering ballot initiative in 2018. It required an independent redistricting commission to draw congressional maps, and the maps selected had to meet certain standards. The intent was to prevent gerrymandered congressional, legislative and state school board districts. Advocates, including Better Boundaries, the group that spearheaded the initiative, were concerned that the Republican supermajority Legislature would eliminate the one competitive congressional district in the state.

Later in 2020, as the national census played out, the Legislature significantly amended the citizen-approved ballot initiative to make the commission’s role weaker and made the redistricting standards optional. Lawmakers went on to adopt their own maps the next year, despite public opposition. Salt Lake County, the bluest area in the state, was split into four congressional districts, weakening the chances of a Democratic win.

The League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government sued state leaders, arguing the Legislature violated the Utah Constitution because it disregarded the will of the people to alter and reform their government when it changed Proposition 4. The plaintiffs also claimed the new maps were gerrymandered in favor of Republicans. For its part, the Legislature argued the state constitution gives lawmakers, who voters elected, the power to alter ballot initiatives and redistrict. Additionally, the Legislature said it didn't fully repeal Proposition 4 because the commission still had an advisory role.

The tug-of-war eventually made its way to the Utah Supreme Court. Utah’s five justices unanimously ruled July 11, 2024, that lawmakers exceeded their authority when they significantly altered the independent redistricting commission. The justices didn’t rule on whether or not the congressional maps should be redrawn. Instead, that decision went back to Judge Gibson’s courtroom.

The alteration to the law, which legislators characterized as a compromise, “impaired the core redistricting reform enacted under Proposition 4 and infringed the people’s fundamental constitutional right to reform their government,” Gibson wrote in her ruling. “The repeal of Proposition 4 and the enactment of S.B. 200 was unconstitutional.”

The state did not have any compelling interest that justified ignoring voters, she wrote. The map that resulted is the tainted product of an “unconstitutional process,” Gibson said, and if not changed, that harm will compound each election cycle.

Allowing “the product of an unconstitutional act, to be used in the upcoming 2026 election is harm that is irreparable,” Gibson wrote. “There is no other remedy, monetary or otherwise, that could rectify the violation of the people’s fundamental right to alter or reform their government. In fact, by not enjoining it, this Court would be sanctioning it.”

That’s why her ruling put a permanent injunction on that map, and it can’t be used in future elections, such as the 2026 midterms. Additionally, she repealed the Legislature’s law and put Proposition 4 back in place. That means the new maps will have to comply with the 2018 Better Boundaries initiative.

Gibson’s ruling is a blow to the Legislature’s Republican leadership. In a joint statement, Senate President J. Stuart Adams and Speaker of the House Mike Schultz said:

“While disappointed by the court’s decision, we remain committed to protecting the voices of Utahns and upholding the Legislature’s state and federal constitutional authority to draw congressional districts,” they said. “We will carefully review the ruling and consider our next steps.”

Utah's redistricting legal saga likely isn’t over. Gibson set a status conference for Aug. 29 at 10 a.m., presumably to talk about future proceedings and what happens next. The state had previously said it plans to appeal Gibson’s decision to the Utah Supreme Court if she did not rule in their favor.

The Associated Press contributed to this story along with KUER’s Jim Hill and former KUER reporter Saige Miller