Utah’s Supreme Court rejects appeal to overturn congressional map with Democratic-leaning district
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Supreme Court on Friday rejected an appeal from Republican lawmakers, leaving in place a congressional map that gave Democrats a chance to take one of the state’s four Republican-held seats in the fall.
In the decision signed by Chief Judge Matthew B. Durrant, the court declared that it had “no jurisdiction over the Legislative Defendants’ appeal.”
MPs appealed decision in November A judge in Utah has accepted a congressional map that creates a Democratic-leaning district over a district poised to preserve all four Republican-held seats in the state’s U.S. House of Representatives.
holds a map Salt Lake County Instead of splitting the heavily Democratic-populated center into four districts as before, it’s almost entirely within a single district.
Republicans argued that the court had no legal authority to issue a map that had not been approved by the Legislature.
Utah Republican Senate President Stuart Adams withdrew the resolution, saying “chaos continues.”
“We will continue to advocate for a process that respects the Constitution and ensures that the voices of Utah voters in our state are respected,” he said in a statement.
Katharine Biele, president of the League of Women Voters of Utah, one of the plaintiffs in the case, applauded the decision.
“We are encouraged that the court rejected this improper challenge and allowed the process to proceed without disruption for voters or election administrators,” he said in a statement.
The redistricting stems from a decision by Judge Dianna Gibson in August. Utah drops congressional map It was passed after the 2020 census because the Legislature exceeded anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters.
The decision plunged the state into a national redistricting battle as President Donald Trump called on Republican-led states to take action. mid-decade redistricting Trying to help the GOP keep control of the House of Representatives in 2026.
The approved map gives Democrats a chance to flip seats in a state that last had a Democrat in Congress in early 2021.
Emma Petty Addams, co-executive director of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, another plaintiff in the case, said in a statement Friday that “the courts have established significant control over the Legislature, affirming the people’s constitutional right to change and reform their government.” he said.
The decision comes weeks before the deadline to file for re-election.
There is someone else Appeal continues in federal court This was spearheaded by the state’s two Republican members of Congress. The lawsuit, filed in February, argues that the state judge violated the U.S. Constitution by rejecting congressional districts drawn by the Republican-led state Legislature.
