SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, July 11, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lawsuit accusing the state Legislature of extreme gerrymandering in its 2020 congressional redistricting maps, saying lawmakers overstepped their authority when they overturned a voter-led initiative.
The League of Women Voters of Utah, Mormon Women for Ethical Government and individual voters filed a lawsuit in March 2022 to block Utah from implementing a congressional redistricting map approved by the Legislature in 2020 and reinstate the bipartisan citizen initiative — Proposition 4 or Better Boundaries — passed by voters in 2018.
In its ruling, the Utah Supreme Court upheld voters’ constitutional right to reform their government through the initiative process.
“We hold that the people’s right to alter or reform the government through an initiative is constitutionally protected from government infringement, including legislative amendment, repeal, or replacement of the initiative in a manner that impairs the reform enacted by the people. Thus, an alleged violation of the people’s exercise of these rights presents a legally cognizable claim on which relief may be granted,” the ruling says.
Plaintiffs celebrated the ruling on social media and scheduled a 3 p.m. news conference at the Capitol.
“The citizens of Utah won! The constitutional right for citizens to make law reforming government stands,” the League of Women Voters of Utah stated on social media.
Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, disagreed with the decision.
“The issues addressed in today’s opinion by the Utah Supreme Court are significant — so significant that I filed an amicus brief with the Court last year,” Cox said following Thursday’s ruling.
“While I disagree with some of the Court’s analysis and determinations, I respect the role of the Court in our system of government. Ultimately, what matters is that we craft policy that keeps Utah the #1 state in the nation to work, live, and raise a family. We look forward to continuing Utah’s pattern of careful and deliberate policymaking with the best interests of Utahns as the top priority,” the governor said.
The lawsuit accused the Legislature of overruling the will of voters in 2020 by repealing Proposition 4 and replacing it with SB200, which rescinded the prohibition on partisan gerrymandering.
That gave lawmakers free rein to draw congressional maps that served their own interests and the majority Republican Party, carving up Salt Lake County — with the state’s largest concentration of non-GOP voters — into four congressional districts.
