The Utah Supreme Court expanded Saturday from five justices to seven with the stroke of a pen by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox.
Cox signed S.B. 134 into law, adding two now-vacant seats to Utah’s highest court effective immediately. The court will hear an anticipated case over which U.S. House map the state will use for November’s midterm elections, multiple outlets reported. The bill did not receive a single “yes” vote from a Democrat in either chamber of the Utah State Legislature, although over 70% of Republicans in each chamber voted for it.
The Court’s expansion comes five months after District Court Judge Dianna Gibson — an appointee of Cox’s predecessor, former Republican Utah Gov. Gary Herbert — ruled in August 2025 the state must redraw its congressional map. Gibson criticized the map presently in use as “partisan gerrymandering.” The state’s Republicans are appealing the ruling, which effectively gives Democrats a one-seat advantage in the midterms, to the Utah Supreme Court.
All four of Utah’s House districts are currently held by Republicans; all voted for President Donald Trump by at least 19 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election. In November 2025, Gibson approved a map which redraws one seat to be safely Democratic, as it voted for Kamala Harris by over 20 points in 2024. This all but guarantees one seat will flip from red to blue if the map is used for the midterms.
With Cox’s nominees to fill the two newly created seats on the Court, five of its seven justices would be his appointees. The Utah State Senate — where Republicans have a supermajority, controlling 22 out of 29 seats — needs to approve each of Cox’s nominees in order for them to be seated.
All five justices currently on the Court were appointed by Republican governors: one by former Republican Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, one by Herbert, and three by Cox.
“I would err on the side that seven sets of eyes reviewing the most complex and difficult issues our state has ever faced is better than having only five sets of eyes,” Utah House Majority Leader Casey Snider, a Republican who sponsored S.B. 134 said, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Cox’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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