Republican-Controlled State Legislature Ordered By Judge To Redraw Congressional Maps

The latest development in the congressional maps saga may benefit Democrats.

A Utah judge has ordered the state’s GOP-controlled legislature to redraw its congressional districts.

The judge ruled that Republican lawmakers disregarded voters who passed a ballot measure banning gerrymandering.

The legislature must redraw the state’s congressional districts before the 2026 midterm elections, the judge added.

BREAKING: A Utah judge said the state’s congressional redistricting maps were unconstitutional and told lawmakers to redraw the boundaries before next year’s midterm elections.https://t.co/HuFiny34qr

— KSL 5 TV (@KSL5TV) August 26, 2025

NBC News has more:

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’s 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 Legislature responded by passing a 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.

“In throwing out the current, gerrymandered congressional map, voters in Utah will now have an opportunity to elect leaders that best represent their values, and not have their representation dictated by politicians,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Suzan DelBene said, according to CBS News.

Utah has four U.S. House seats, all of which are held by Republicans.

In 2018, a Democrat narrowly won one district in the state.

Breaking News: Utah must redraw its congressional map, a judge ruled, saying that a GOP effort to carve it up ignored the will of voters. https://t.co/6YdhLwgkpv

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 26, 2025

What do you think?

CBS News shared further info:

It remains to be seen how the redistricting back and forth between Republicans and Democrats will affect campaigns, but the GOP majority at the moment is incredibly narrow. If the same lines used in the 2024 election were used again, Democrats could gain control of the House by winning back as few as three seats in the 2026 midterms.

Partisan tensions over congressional lines have been rising.

Utah’s senior GOP U.S. Sen. Mike Lee on Monday lambasted the court’s decision, saying in a lengthy social media thread, “This is a great day for Utah’s Democrats—who haven’t controlled the Utah legislature in many, many decades (because most Utah voters don’t like what the Democratic Party is selling), and have found a clever way to even the score by enlisting the help of their judicial allies.”

“But it’s a terrible day for everyone else—and for the rule of law,” Lee said.

The case that led to Monday’s ruling started long before this summer’s national redistricting drama but is now a part of the discussion. Last week Texas Republicans followed through on a quest to please Mr. Trump by passing redrawn congressional lines that take five Democratic seats in the state and make them more favorable to Republicans.

ADVERTISEMENT

The GOP quest isn’t limited to Texas, though. Republicans in Indiana and Missouri are also facing a push to redraw their maps, where smaller pickup opportunities of Democratic districts are possible if changes are made to favor Republicans.