Katie Wright, a Park City resident and the executive director of Better Boundaries, gave an update on the lawsuit Monday during KPCW’s Local News Hour. Her organization helps fund the lawsuit filed in 2022 to challenge the Utah Legislature’s actions.
Utah voters passed the bipartisan citizen initiative Proposition 4 in 2018 meant to ensure district maps didn’t favor one party over another. The proposition created an independent redistricting commission with seven elected members to ensure voters can decide how electoral districts are drawn and not politicians. At the time, 66% of Summit County voters supported Prop 4 while only 38% did in Wasatch County.
In 2020, lawmakers passed SB 200 which reversed restrictions on gerrymandering and stripped the redistricting commission’s authority over district maps. Now, the commission can only advise lawmakers.
District lines are redrawn every 10 years based on the most recent census data. In 2021, lawmakers ignored the commission’s proposed congressional map which would have created a single Salt Lake County district. The Salt Lake Tribune reported it would have given a Democrat a “reasonable chance of winning.” However, lawmakers split the county into four districts. At the time, Senator Derek Kitchen said the map would “dilute” Salt Lake County residents’ voices. Lawmakers also opted to divide Summit County by including Park City and Kamas in the third district, which extends to Utah’s border, and leaving the Snyderville and Wanship areas in the first district.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, the League of Women Voters of Utah and some Salt Lake City voters. The lawsuit claims the 2021 congressional map and the repealing of Prop 4 violate the state constitution.
Wright said the group argues the map violates the state constitution’s guarantee that voters have a right to equal protection under the law, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and the affirmative right to vote.
“The extreme partisan gerrymander of the congressional map essentially dilutes the power of some voters while elevating the power of some voters,” she said.
During the July 2023 hearing, Wright said justices expressed concern the people’s ability to pass ballot initiatives and have them stay in place was in jeopardy. Further, Utahns have the right to alter or reform their government.
“We have the affirmative right to ballot initiative in our Utah State Constitution," Wright said. "So when a ballot initiative that reforms the government is overturned, how are we the people practically able to exercise that very explicit right in the constitution?”
Wright says it’s unclear when the court will release an opinion.
