Judge Tosses Utah GOP Map Over ‘Partisan Gerrymandering,’ Orders Districts Redrawn

A Utah judge threw a wrench into the Republican Party’s plan for a clean sweep of the state’s congressional seats on Monday, striking down the GOP-drawn map as illegal.

District Court Judge Dianna Gibson ruled that Utah’s congressional map, adopted in 2021, must be redrawn because the GOP-controlled legislature violated voter-approved safeguards against “partisan gerrymandering” when creating the map. The ruling is the latest in the escalating national redistricting battle, as both Democrats and Republicans vie for additional congressional seats ahead of the 2026 midterms.

“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,” Gibson said in the ruling.

Voters approved a ballot initiative in 2018 that created an independent redistricting body, but lawmakers passed S.B. 200 in 2020, making the commission’s role merely advisory, according to the Utah News Dispatch. When the 2020 census data arrived, the Legislature ignored the commission’s proposal and drew its own map, the outlet reported.

“Plaintiffs have proven, as a matter of law, that the Legislature unconstitutionally repealed Proposition 4 and enacted S.B. 200, in violation of the people’s fundamental right to reform redistricting in Utah and to prohibit partisan gerrymandering,” Gibson wrote in the ruling.

The ruling gives lawmakers until Sept. 24 to deliver new maps. Voting rights groups that brought the lawsuit will also be allowed to submit proposals for the court to review.