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Redistricting in Utah ahead of the 2026 elections

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Redistricting
State legislative and congressional redistricting after the 2020 census
General information
State-by-state redistricting procedures • Majority-minority districts • Gerrymandering
The 2020 cycle
United States census, 2020 • Congressional apportionment • Redistricting committees • Deadlines • 2022 House elections with multiple incumbents • New U.S.House districts created after apportionment • Congressional maps • State legislative maps • Lawsuits • Status of redistricting after the 2020 census
Redrawn maps
Redistricting before 2024 elections • Redistricting before 2026 elections
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BP-Initials-UPDATED.png Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures. This article covers redistricting activity in Utah after the 2024 elections and before the 2026 elections.


Utah's four United States representatives and 104 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.

Congressional districts
Litigation over congressional redistricting in Utah after the 2020 census is ongoing.

On March 16, 2022, the Utah League of Women Voters and Mormon Women for Ethical Government sued the Utah State Legislature, arguing the legislature violated the state constitution when it repealed and replaced the citizen-approved Proposition 4, a 2018 ballot measure that established a redistricting commission to draw congressional, state legislative, and school board district boundaries for the legislature to consider.[1][2] The groups also argued the congressional map adopted in 2021 was a partisan gerrymander.[3]

The Utah Supreme Court ruled on July 11, 2024, that the legislature's override of Proposition 4 likely violated voters' constitutional right to participate in government.[4] The Court returned the case to Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson to determine whether the legislature's changes to the ballot initiative were "narrowly tailored to advance a compelling government interest."[2] On August 25, 2025, Gibson struck down the state's congressional map, writing, "The nature of the violation lies in the Legislature’s refusal to respect the people’s exercise of their constitutional lawmaking power and to honor the people’s right to reform their government."

Click here for more information about the congressional maps enacted in Utah after the 2020 census.

Legislative districts
State legislative redistricting in Utah after the 2020 census has concluded.

Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed new state legislative districts for both chambers into law on November 16, 2021. After Cox called a special session to begin on November 9, 2021, the Utah legislature voted to approve the House and Senate district maps on November 10, 2021. The House districts proposal passed the House in a 60-12 vote and cleared the Senate in a 25-3 vote. The House voted 58-13 to approve the Senate map and the Senate approved the proposal in a 26-2 vote. [5][6] These maps took effect for Utah's 2022 legislative elections.

Click here for more information about the state legislative maps enacted in Utah after the 2020 census.

For a complete overview of redistricting in Utah after the 2020 census, click here.

Summary

See also: Redistricting in Utah after the 2020 census

This section lists major events in the post-2020 census redistricting cycle in reverse chronological order. Major events include the release of apportionment data, the release of census population data, the introduction of formal map proposals, the enactment of new maps, and noteworthy court challenges. Click the dates below for additional information.

  • September 15, 2025: The Utah Supreme Court rejected the legislature's appeal for a pause on the district court ruling that struck down the state's congressional map.
  • August 25, 2025: A district court judge struck down the state's congressional map adopted by the state legislature in 2021 for not following the Proposition 4 process approved by voters in 2018.

Court challenges

See also: Redistricting lawsuits in the 2020 redistricting cycle

League of Women Voters v. Utah State Legislature

On March 16, 2022, the Utah League of Women Voters and Mormon Women for Ethical Government sued the Utah State Legislature, arguing the legislature violated the state constitution when it repealed and replaced the citizen-approved Proposition 4, a 2018 ballot measure that established a redistricting commission to draw congressional, state legislative, and school board district boundaries for the legislature to consider.[7][2] The groups also argued the congressional map adopted in 2021 was a partisan gerrymander.[3]

The Utah Supreme Court ruled on July 11, 2024, that the legislature's override of Proposition 4 likely violated voters' constitutional right to participate in government.[8] The Court returned the case to Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson to determine whether the legislature's changes to the ballot initiative were "narrowly tailored to advance a compelling government interest."[2] On August 25, 2025, Gibson struck down the state's congressional map, writing, "The nature of the violation lies in the Legislature’s refusal to respect the people’s exercise of their constitutional lawmaking power and to honor the people’s right to reform their government."[3] On September 15, 2025, the Utah Supreme Court rejected the legislature's appeal for a pause on the district court's ruling, allowing plans to redraw the map by November 10, 2025 to proceed.[9]

For more information about redistricting lawsuits in Utah, click here.

Enacted maps

Enacted congressional district maps

See also: Congressional district maps implemented after the 2020 census

Utah enacted new congressional districts on November 12, 2021, after Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed a map proposal approved by the House and the Senate. The enacted map was drafted by the legislature and differed from a proposal the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission released on November 5, 2021.[10] The congressional map passed the Utah House 50-22 on November 9, 2021, with five Republicans and all Democratic House members voting against it. The Senate approved the map on November 10, 2021, in a 21-7 vote. Before signing the congressional map, Cox said he would not veto any maps approved by the legislature. He said, "The Legislature is fully within their rights to actually make those decisions and decide where they want to draw those lines."[11] This map took effect for Utah's 2022 congressional elections.

The Utah Supreme Court ruled on July 11, 2024, that the legislature's override of Proposition 4 likely violated voters' constitutional right to participate in government.[12] The Court returned the case to Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson to determine whether the legislature's changes to the ballot initiative were "narrowly tailored to advance a compelling government interest."[2] On August 25, 2025, Gibson struck down the state's congressional map, writing, "The nature of the violation lies in the Legislature’s refusal to respect the people’s exercise of their constitutional lawmaking power and to honor the people’s right to reform their government."[3] On September 15, 2025, the Utah Supreme Court rejected the legislature's appeal to pause the district court ruling, allowing plans to redraw the map by November 10, 2025, to proceed.[9]

Enacted state legislative district maps

See also: State legislative district maps implemented after the 2020 census

Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed new state legislative districts for both chambers into law on November 16, 2021. After Cox called a special session to begin on November 9, 2021, the Utah legislature voted to approve the House and Senate district maps on November 10, 2021. The House districts proposal passed the House in a 60-12 vote and cleared the Senate in a 25-3 vote. The House voted 58-13 to approve the Senate map and the Senate approved the proposal in a 26-2 vote. [13][14] These maps took effect for Utah's 2022 legislative elections.

Both proposals differed from those presented to the legislative committee by Utah's Independent Redistricting Commission on November 1, 2021.[15] The commission presented 12 maps (three each for House, Senate, congressional, and school board districts) to the Legislative Redistricting Committee, one of which was submitted by a citizen.[16]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The American Redistricting Project, "League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature," accessed August 26, 2025
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Utah News Dispatch, "Judge orders Utah Legislature to draw new congressional maps," August 25, 2025
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Associated Press, "Judge rules Utah’s congressional map must be redrawn for the 2026 elections," August 25, 2025
  4. ↑ New York Times, "Utah’s Gerrymandered House Map Ignored Voters’ Will, State Supreme Court Says," July 11, 2024
  5. ↑ Utah State Legislature, "S.B. 2006 Utah State Senate Boundaries and Election Designation," accessed November 17, 2021
  6. ↑ Utah State Legislature, "H.B. 2005 Utah State House Boundaries Designation," accessed November 17, 2021
  7. ↑ The American Redistricting Project, "League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature," accessed August 26, 2025
  8. ↑ New York Times, "Utah’s Gerrymandered House Map Ignored Voters’ Will, State Supreme Court Says," July 11, 2024
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 KSL.com, "Utah Supreme Court rejects Legislature's request to stop redistricting," September 15, 2025
  10. ↑ Deseret News, "Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signs off on controversial congressional map that ‘cracks’ Salt Lake County," November 12, 2021
  11. ↑ Deseret News, "Utah redistricting: Congressional map splitting Salt Lake County 4 ways heads to Gov. Spencer Cox," November 10, 2021
  12. ↑ New York Times, "Utah’s Gerrymandered House Map Ignored Voters’ Will, State Supreme Court Says," July 11, 2024
  13. ↑ Utah State Legislature, "S.B. 2006 Utah State Senate Boundaries and Election Designation," accessed November 17, 2021
  14. ↑ Utah State Legislature, "H.B. 2005 Utah State House Boundaries Designation," accessed November 17, 2021
  15. ↑ KSL, "Utah redistricting map battles underscore independent-panel hurdles across the US," November 13, 2021
  16. ↑ Utah Public Radio, "Utah Independent Redistricting Commission proposes 12 maps to Utah lawmakers," November 2, 2021
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