Utah could be one step closer to having new congressional district boundaries — or, having the current four solid Republican districts locked in for the rest of the decade after attorneys gave their final arguments in front of a district court judge Friday in the lawsuit over the state’s allegedly gerrymandered political maps.
The downtown Salt Lake City courtroom was halfway filled, with supporters of plaintiffs — the League of Women Voters, Mormon Women for Ethical Government and several individuals — packed into benches on one side, and seats on the other side mostly empty while the Legislature, the main defendant in the case, was in session up the hill.
Plaintiffs are arguing that the Legislature did not take into account voters’ demands in a successful 2018 ballot initiative that required redistricting in the state to be led by an independent commission.
Outside counsel from a Washington-based boutique law firm, hired by the Legislature nearly three years ago, contended Friday that lawmakers were adhering to what they say is their constitutional duty to draw electoral maps and determine their own policymaking processes.
A possible conclusion in the case nears after the Utah Supreme Court unanimously ruled in voting rights groups’ favor last summer that “when Utahns exercise their right to reform the government through a citizen initiative, their exercise of these rights is protected from government infringement.”
Attorney Taylor Meehan presents an argument for the state for a case challenging the state's congressional districts before the Utah Supreme Court in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, July 11, 2023. (Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Attorneys representing plaintiffs asked 3rd District Judge Dianna Gibson for three things: to block portions of a law the Legislature enacted in 2020 establishing a redistricting process separate from the one in the ballot initiative, to throw out the current congressional maps and to ensure maps that meet the criteria of the initiative are put in place.
While it’s unclear how soon a ruling from Gibson might come, a decision will likely be made within the calendar year. Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, whose office oversees elections in the state, has requested that electoral maps for the 2026 congressional elections be finalized by Nov. 1.
“I am mindful that time is of the essence,” Gibson said as she adjourned, telling attorneys that she will take their arguments under advisement.
Aseem Mulji, a Campaign Legal Center attorney who is representing plaintiffs, said he expects the Legislature could establish new maps in as little as a month after a ruling, noting, “The Legislature has had the [independent redistricting] commission’s maps on its desk for three years now.”
Representatives for the Legislature have asked Gibson to first make a decision as to whether or not lawmakers did, in fact, illegally ignore the will of voters when it passed the law determining its redistricting process and later in adopting congressional maps. Then, they said, the parties can work on charting a path forward.
No matter Gibson’s ruling, it is likely there will be further appeals to the Utah Supreme Court challenging her conclusion.
