Summit County used to be divided into five state legislative districts - three in the House and two in the Senate. After the latest updates to state districts last fall, that number has increased to six.
Summit County will now be divided into four house districts, all with new numbers.
The current House District 28, will now be District 23. It includes Summit Park and a swath of Salt Lake County.
Current House District 54, will now be district 59. It covers Park City proper, much of Snyderville Basin and all of Wasatch County.
And a brand new House District 68, includes sparsely populated land in Summit County just south of the Wyoming border.
The senate stays the same.
Voters can still call their current elected representatives through the end of the year – but primary and general elections this year will reflect the new district maps.
Republican Kera Birkeland represents Utah’s House District 53 - soon to be District 4. It encompasses Morgan, Summit County’s East side, Kimball Junction, Pinebrook and Jeremy Ranch, and stretches north to the Idaho border. She voted no on the new maps in November and says that many of her constituents are not happy with them.
“I actually I ended up voting no, on the house redistricting maps, I felt like there were some issues that weren't properly resolved," said Birkeland. "However, I also understand that no one's going to get everything they want in redistricting.”
Katie Wright, executive director of Better Boundaries, a non-partisan coalition of community leaders and redistricting advocates, says the process was disappointing and didn’t serve voters well.
"They drew maps behind closed doors. They favored incumbents in both parties, you know, focused on incumbency protection and in the end, we got really partisan gerrymandered maps.”
Eve Furse, the Summit County clerk said, population growth drove some of the changes. For example, Oakley, Coalville and Francis previously had one precinct each; now they each have two due to the growing number of registered voters.
Birkeland said it will take time to get used to the new boundaries.
“I think it's gonna take a year or two to get everybody on board. It is hard. It's confusing. It's a change.”
A lawsuit was filed on March 17th by the Mormon Women for Ethical Government and Utah’s League of Women Voters. It doesn’t affect the state districts – it’s aimed at U.S. congressional districts, which the lawsuit charges are unfairly gerrymandered.
You can find out what district you’re in by going to le.utah.gov and clicking on “My Legislators”. There will also be a link in this story on kpcw.org
