SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court has rejected the legislature's request to halt a judge's order demanding a new redistricting process.
In a unanimous order issued without hearing arguments in the case, the state's top court refused to grant a stay sought by the Utah State Legislature.
"They argue that the district court abused its discretion in denying their request for a stay of the court’s injunctive order pending the exhaustion of any appeals, but their arguments are focused on the remedial process, not the court’s denial of their stay request. Thus, they have not shown that the district court abused its discretion in denying their request. Accordingly, we deny the petition for extraordinary relief," the Court said.
The decision by the Utah Supreme Court means the Republican-supermajority legislature must comply with a lower court judge's decision to have new maps for Utah's congressional districts. They will also have to do it under very tight deadlines. Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson has said she must have new maps no later than Nov. 10 in order to accommodate ballot printing.
“A rushed timeline is not the best approach for determining congressional districts nor for setting public policy. Despite this, the Legislature will move forward to the best of its ability. A committee has been formed, the court’s timeline will be followed and Utahns can provide input on the legislative map at redistricting.utah.gov starting Sept. 25," said Senate President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, and House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, in a joint statement.
The League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government were among those who sued the legislature over the redistricting process. They accused lawmakers of overriding the will of voters who passed Prop. 4 back in 2018. That citizen ballot initiative created an independent redistricting commission which drew maps that the lawsuit alleges lawmakers ignored in favor of their own that carved up the state into a mix of urban and rural areas. The plaintiffs allege that was gerrymandering to favor Republicans.
Judge Gibson sided with the plaintiffs in her ruling, declaring that Prop. 4 is now law and threw out the legislature's congressional maps and set a strict series of deadlines for new ones.
"The legislature has one strategy: delay," Katharine Biele, the president of the League of Women Voters of Utah, told FOX 13 News on Monday. "It wants yet another election to pass under an illegal congressional map but the Utah Supreme Court has denied their motion to stay. This case is fundamentally about respecting the will of the voters. Utah voters passed Prop 4 in 2018, and the Legislature has tried to ignore the will of the people at every step."
Republican legislative leaders insist they have the sole constitutional authority to set redistricting boundaries. Attorneys for the Utah legislature have raised the potential for a federal lawsuit that could take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, but so far have not filed one.
"I applaud the decision from the state Supreme Court. I’m looking forward to focusing our attention on the redistricting process outlined by Judge Gibson," House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, said in a statement.
A special session to adopt new maps that still must be approved by a judge is expected to take place in early October.
