Judge says Utah must redraw its congressional maps

In a court ruling issued late Monday, 3rd District Court Judge Dianna Gibson said the Utah Legislature’s 2021 congressional maps violate the state constitution.

In her ruling, Gibson said the maps made in 2021 diluted the political power of Salt Lake County residents by splitting them into four districts and ordered Utah lawmakers to draw a new one.

“The core issue before the Court is whether the Utah State Legislature’s enactment of S.B. 200 unconstitutionally impaired Proposition 4, a citizen initiative designed to reform the redistricting process in Utah and prohibit partisan gerrymandering,” she wrote. “The Legislature is directed to design and enact a remedial congressional redistricting map in conformity with Proposition 4’s mandatory redistricting standards and requirements.”

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