Utah judge orders new congressional maps for 2026 in another redistricting twist

A Utah district judge has ruled that the state must redraw its congressional districts because the state's Republican-controlled Legislature made a mistake when it overturned a ballot measure approved by voters that aimed to limit partisan gerrymandering.

The ruling adds yet another twist to the national battle for control of Congress next year — and how the congressional map is evolving ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Republicans are defending a narrow lead in the U.S. House of Representatives, but Texas Republicans, urged on by President Donald Trump, embarked on a rare mid-decade effort to redraw the state's lines in the hope of securing up to five more congressional seats for the GOP.

That has lit a match that has a handful of other states considering redrawing their own lines. Last week, in response to Texas, California's Democratic-controlled Legislature passed its own plan To ask voters to temporarily redraw lines to create up to five new Democratic-leaning seats there. And Republican and Democratic leaders in other states have considered following suit.

At issue in Utah is a long-running court battle over the 2018 ballot proposition that Created an independent redistricting commission to recommend congressional maps. And it is unclear whether that fight will be resolved and whether Utah will have new maps for the midterms.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported Monday that the Legislature's attorneys have said they could appeal a ruling to state courts or even the U.S. Supreme Court.

Under the terms of the 2018 ballot measure, the Legislature was required to either approve or disapprove those maps, and voters approved guardrails for how new districts should be drawn. One of those was a ban on partisan gerrymandering.

In 2020, the state Legislature responded by passing a new law that softened the partisan redistricting ban and removed the requirement that legislators vote on the independent commission's map, among other things.

In her 76-page ruling, Judge Dianna M. Gibson wrote that the Legislature "intentionally stripped away" the heart of the 2018 reform passed by voters when it passed its own legislation just a few years later.

"Redistricting is not a mere exercise in political line-drawing; it strikes at the very heart of our democracy," she wrote.

"The way district boundaries are drawn determines whether the right to vote is meaningful, whether equal protection is honored, and whether the fundamental promises of our state and federal constitutions are upheld," Gibson continued. "How district lines are drawn can either safeguard representation and ensure accountability by elected representatives or erode public trust, silence voices and weaken the rule of law."

Finding that the Legislature "unconstitutionally repealed" the ballot measure, the judge barred the state from proceeding with future elections under its current congressional district lines. And she directed the Legislature to create a remedial map within 30 days that follows the guidelines passed by voters in 2018.

Utah is a heavily Republican state and supported President Donald Trump by more than 20 points, 58%-37%, in the last election. The state's House delegation is currently made up of four Republicans.

But its biggest population center — Salt Lake County, which accounts for more than one-third of Utah's population — leans Democratic. The county supported Harris by 10 points in 2024. The current congressional map divides it into four districts that spread out across the rest of the state's Republican strongholds.

This article was originally published on newsrealtime

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Texas legislature to address redistricting, committee members assigned

(The Center Square) – On the call for the special legislative session, which began Monday, is the task of redistricting Texas' 38 congressional districts.

The special session has begun for an initial 30 days to address 18 legislative priorities identified by Gov. Greg Abbott, including redistricting. The governor may extend the special session for another 30 days and amend agenda items at any time.

In Abbott's call for the special session, he said the legislature must pass legislation "that provides a revised congressional redistricting plan in light of constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice."

The legislature is also "working in lockstep on congressional redistricting legislation," Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows said in a joint statement.

"Working with the House, the Texas Senate will move forward on redistricting to pass a legal, constitutional congressional map," Patrick said.

"Texans place their trust in the Legislature to uphold fairness in the redistricting process, and we will continue to work closely together to fulfill this legislative responsibility," Burrows said.

On Monday, Burrows announced he created the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting and appointed a bipartisan group of 21 members to serve on it.

They include state Reps. Cody Vasut as chair and Jon Rosenthal as vice chair and Reps. Josey Garcia, Charlie Geren, Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, R.D. "Bobby" Guerra, Ryan Guillen, Cole Hefner, Hillary Hickland, Todd Hunter, Christian Manuel, Will Metcalf, John McQueeney, Joe Moody, Katrina Pierson, David Spiller, Carl Tepper, Senfronia Thompson, Chris Turner, Terry Wilson and Gene Wu.

Patrick has yet to announce Senate committee members.

The Texas legislature has published information about the redistricting process, including about the Legislative Redistricting Board, public hearing process, judicial review and elections. Generally, redistricting takes place after a federal census. Because the last census was conducted in 2020 and the Texas legislature meets every other year during odd years, the legislature convened in 2021 to implement a redistricting plan.

That plan passed the legislature, was approved by the governor, and faced lawsuits starting in October 2021. It has been in litigation ever since.

The cases were consolidated into one case before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. This May and June, oral arguments were heard in the consolidated cases, LULAC v. Abbott, and the court ordered the involved parties to submit post-trial briefs no later than September 3. The groups argue the redistricting plan violates the 14th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act.

As with other bills and committees, the select committee will hold public hearings to allow "citizens to present relevant testimony concerning the impact of existing districts, local preferences for district changes, communities of interest, local voting patterns, and other issues that the legislature may consider when redrawing district lines. The hearings also promote public awareness of the legislative redistricting process," the legislature explains.

This year's process includes the legislature proposing, voting on, and potentially passing a redistricting bill. The governor may sign the bill into law, allow it to take effect without signing it, or veto it. If it fails to pass or is vetoed, the Legislative Redistricting Board will meet as required by the Texas Constitution. The LRB consists of the lieutenant governor, House speaker, attorney general, comptroller, and General Land Office commissioner.

If the redistricting plan is adopted, it would become effective for the following primary and general election, which would be in 2026. However, Democratic opposition is expected throughout the process, and lawsuits are also expected, as was the case in 2021.

If or when a redistricting law becomes effective, before elections are held in new districts, affected counties are required to change their voting precinct boundaries. Candidates for state legislative office are required to have resided in the district they seek to represent for at least one year before the general election is held.

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