SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah ballot measure that creates an independent redistricting commission has narrowly passed.
Final results released Tuesday night showed the proposition won by less than 1 percentage point after being virtually deadlocked through two weeks of vote counting.
The proposition creates a seven-person commission that will draw up maps for new congressional and state legislative districts after the 2020 census. The state Legislature would then look them over and decide whether to approve them.
In the current system, the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature passes redistricting plans by a majority vote, subject to a gubernatorial veto.
Opponents argued the measure was unconstitutional and was an attempt by liberals to gain more power.
States will get the 2020 census results in spring 2021, triggering a mandatory once-a-decade redistricting for U.S. House and state legislative seats to account for population changes.
