Utah judge orders new congressional map under Prop 4 for 2026

A Utah district court judge ruled that the Legislature violated voters’ will by drawing congressional boundaries that circumvented a voter-approved reform, ordering new maps to be drafted and in place for the 2026 elections. The decision, delivered Monday, takes aim at the 2021 map and directs lawmakers to produce a plan that complies with Proposition 4, the 2018 initiative that created an independent redistricting process intended to curb partisan gerrymandering. The ruling also sets in motion a sequence of potential appeals and further court proceedings that could stretch into the 2028 cycle, depending on how quickly the state acts and how the courts respond.

Background to the case centers on Proposition 4, a citizen-led reform that established the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission to draw fair maps. In 2020, the Legislature repealed the initiative and transformed the commission into an advisory body. Lawmakers then adopted its own congressional boundaries in 2021, which critics say carved up Salt Lake County to create four solidly partisan districts. Voting-rights groups, including the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government, challenged...