Utah’s congressional map must be redrawn for the 2026 elections, judge says

A Utah judge has ordered the the state’s congressional maps are redrawn ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, after finding that GOP lawmakers unlawfully carved up its districts.

With parts of the country embroiled in a bitter redistricting fight, Judge Dianna Gibson on Monday struck down Utah’s GOP-drawn 2021 map, ruling that lawmakers had undermined and disregarded an independent commission created by voters to curb partisan gerrymandering.

In a 79-page order, Gibson wrote that the Legislature has until September 24 to adopt new boundaries in compliance with a 2018 ballot measure approved by Utah voters, just months before candidates start filing for the 2026 midterms in January.

The judge wrote that the Legislature “intentionally stripped away all” of the commission’s “core redistricting standards and procedures that were binding on it.”

“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,” she added.

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The current map divides up Salt Lake City, a blue stronghold in an otherwise red state, among Utah’s four congressional districts, each held by Republicans.

An independent redraw of the state’s congressional districts could give the Democrats a fighting chance in at least one seat. In 2018, former Democratic Representative Ben McAdams won a Salt Lake City-area district before Utah Republicans drew partisan maps in 2021.

GOP lawmakers in the state have already signaled a plan to appeal which could cause the case to head for the Utah Supreme Court and, possibly, the U.S. Supreme Court.

The ruling marked a major victory for anti-gerrymandering advocates who have battled for years to restore fairer representation in the state’s redistricting process.

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Utah Democratic Party chair and former Utah House Majority Leader Brian King celebrated the decision on Monday evening, writing in a statement that “Utahns will be getting fair maps and real representation” nearly eight years after they voted for it.

Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz said in a joint statement that they are “disappointed” by Monday’s ruling.

“We remain committed to protecting the voices of Utahns and upholding the legislature's state and federal constitutional authority to draw congressional districts,” they continued.

The decision propels Utah into a broader redistricting battle ignited by Donald Trump’s demand that Texas Republicans approve a new congressional map aimed at flipping five Democrat-held districts to Republican control, which was passed last week.

In retaliation against the president’s push for aggressive partisan redistricting in Texas, California Governor Gavin Newsom said he aims to redraw California’s U.S. House maps before the midterms.

Newsom has asked the state Legislature to place his proposition, the “Election Rigging Response Act,” to alter California’s map on November’s Uniform District Election ballot that could lead to five new blue-majority districts.