Legislature files appeal with Utah Supreme Court in redistricting case

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah State Legislature asked the Utah Supreme Court for an emergency halt of the ruling that orders them to draw new congressional maps by September 25.

That ruling came from the Third District Court, and it said that the legislature wasn’t allowed to overturn Proposition 4, a citizen ballot measure that created anti-gerrymandering guidelines. It also required the Legislature to draw new congressional maps complying with Proposition 4.

The Legislature’s lawyers are only asking for the remedy of drawing new maps to be halted, and they are not asking them to weigh in on the merits of whether they agree with the lower court’s ruling that the legislature unconstitutionally overturned the people’s ballot initiative.

The Legislature is arguing that the remedy ordered by the Third District Court ignores some requirements of Proposition 4, and because of that, the remedy is inconsistent with the legal reasoning in that same ruling.

It’s not clear yet if the state’s high court will agree to hear this emergency request, but if they do end up halting the ruling, then Utah will likely use the 2021 Congressional maps for next November’s midterm elections while the case continues to be litigated.

The Legislature’s lawyers have asked for a decision from the Supreme Court by September 15, and that is the day the Governor is likely to call the legislature in to a special session.

You can read the full petition filed by the Legislature below.

Background on the lawsuit

This issue began in 2018, when Utah voters passed Proposition 4, a citizen ballot initiative run by Better Boundaries. The initiative created a redistricting commission to draw new boundary lines for Utah’s congressional districts and prohibited partisan gerrymandering.

In 2020, the Utah Legislature gutted the commission created by the initiative in S.B. 200, and it replaced maps with its own in H.B. 2004.

Plaintiffs filed the lawsuit arguing that the current district maps break up Salt Lake City into four districts that dilute minority votes in the traditionally red state. They also argued that Utahns have a constitutionally protected right to “alter and reform” their government, which was what Proposition 4 did before it was changed by the Legislature.

The Utah Supreme Court upheld the people’s right to alter and reform government in a major ruling from July of last year, which meant that the lawsuit was able to move forward in Utah’s lower court. Utah’s top lawmakers discredited the ruling, calling it the “worst decision they’ve ever seen.” Earlier this year, both parties argued the merits of the case before Judge Gibson.

Previously, the parties in the case agreed on a new timeline for redistricting. Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson has asked the court for the case to be finalized by November so that if new lines need to be drawn, they can be drawn before the 2026 midterm elections.