Utah judge orders redrawing of state's congressional map in latest redistricting drama
Salt Lake City, Utah - A Utah judge on Monday ordered the state to redraw its congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, after ruling that its Republican legislature had overstepped.

Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson ruled that the Republicans had overstepped when they overruled a ballot measure that established an independent redistricting commission in 2018.
The commission was meant to recommend congressional maps and was designed to counteract gerrymandering by placing the responsibility for redistricting in the hands of an independent body.
In 2021, however, a new congressional map was introduced that favored the Republicans and went against the 2018 commission.
Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, Republicans have ramped up their aggressive redistricting agenda in a bid to maintain their congressional majority in the 2026 midterm elections.
It is in this context that Gibson overruled the 2021 congressional map, forcing Utah to redraw under the 2018 process.
"Plaintiffs have proven, as a matter of law, that the Legislature unconstitutionally repealed Proposition 4, and enacted SB 200, in violation of the people's fundamental right to reform redistricting in Utah and to prohibit partisan gerrymandering,"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 judge ordered Utah's legislature to "design and enact a remedial congressional redistricting map in conformity with Proposition 4’s mandatory redistricting standards and requirements."
Texas Republicans have succeeded in passing a new congressional map. They pushed the legislation through despite fierce opposition from Democratic lawmakers, a number of whom fled the state in a bid to prevent the vote.
In response, California Governor Gavin Newsom has introduced his own redistricting bill to try to minimize the impact of Republican gerrymandering and "fight back" against Trump.
Cover photo: IMAGO/Cavan Images