Utah voters passed Proposition 4 — which sought to ban partisan gerrymandering — in 2018, and for two election cycles were subjected to congressional maps that were, Judge Dianna Gibson wrote in Tuesday’s decision, “enacted in disregard to Proposition 4 and in defiance of the will of the people of Utah.”
Voters are entitled to “a lawful congressional plan” that complies with Proposition 4, she said.
Granting the Legislature’s request to push pause on the court-ordered congressional remapping, Gibson wrote, “would be sanctioning the Legislature’s violation of the people’s constitutional right to reform their government through redistricting legislation.”
“It would sanction the wholesale repeal of Proposition 4 and would irreparably harm the people of Utah,” she wrote.
Gibson’s refusal to pause the redistricting process clears the way for the Legislature to go to the Utah Supreme Court and ask the justices to block Gibson’s order. Although that may be a long shot, as the state’s high court ruled unanimously last year that the Legislature overstepped when it repealed Proposition 4.
Gibson’s denial also means the process of redrawing boundaries will proceed.
And mapmakers will have a little breathing room in the race to redraw the four districts.
Lawyers for Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson told Gibson Tuesday that county clerks could be prepared for next year’s midterm election as long as they have new maps by Nov. 10. Previously, her office had said Nov. 1 was the deadline to have congressional boundaries in place.
Read more at sltrib.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.