State Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Congressional Map

(Salt Lake City, UT) — The state Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether the Legislature has essentially unreviewable power to draw a map of Utah’s congressional districts that watered down the votes of Democrats. In 2021 the Republican-dominated Legislature created a map that carved up Democratic-leaning Salt Lake County and scattered its voters among Utah’s four predominantly GOP congressional districts. Lawmakers approved the map after repealing a 2018 voter-approved ballot initiative that outlawed political maps unduly tilting toward a candidate or political party. The question before the court is whether state courts can hear a lawsuit challenging the Legislature’s map.