The House passes HJR 201 during a special session of the legislature at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
As Utah lawmakers pursue legislation on redistricting — both in special session and in the upcoming 2026 legislative session — sound constitutional principles that respect the people’s will ought to prevail. Sadly, in the redistricting debate that has been occurring primarily in courtrooms in the last several years, both principle and the people have often taken a back seat to national partisan interest.
Judicial decisions around redistricting have undermined sound constitutional ideas while simultaneously transforming Utah into a national partisan battleground over the 2026 midterm elections. Driving the debate is Proposition 4, which created a redistricting commission to assist the Utah Legislature in redistricting decisions, and also planted in Utah law the concept of using lawsuits to dispute legislative redistricting decisions…