You may have heard that Utah's Legislature is redrawing congressional maps after our state courts ruled the old maps violated voter’s rights and couldn’t be used in future elections. Instead of agreeing to play by the rules after being caught cheating, the legislature has since doubled down. Senator Brammer (R-Utah County) introduced a "partisan bias test" bill that justifies keeping all 4 congressional districts safely Republican while claiming it's "fair."
The Legislature has until Sept 25 to publish maps, followed by 10 days of public comment before an Oct 6 vote. The bottom line is that politicians are using extremist tricks to choose their voters instead of letting voters choose their representatives. Senator Brammer’s legislation creates a "partisan bias test" that would: |
- Bake in Republican-favored partisan advantage: Using a formula based on Utah's average vote share, the bill would allow maps with built-in Republican advantages in EVERY district.
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Create an impossible standard: The test only fails if Democrats win seats in a hypothetical 50-50 election - something that has not happened in recent Utah history
- Override Proposition 4: While claiming to define "partisan symmetry," it actually guts the voter-approved standard by making gerrymandered maps mathematically "fair"
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Manipulates the Boundaries: Draws the maps in such a way so there is always a Republican advantage of 11% and a disadvantage for the Democrats by 19%
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Partisan symmetry is a broad concept in political science that means maps should treat political parties evenly. To measure it, experts use a toolbox of tests that capture fairness in a different way, which is why they are typically considered together. Proposition 4 requires this broad approach, stating that maps must be judged using the best available data, scientific methods, and “measures of partisan symmetry,” with the clear intent that multiple fairness tests be applied together to determine whether a map is truly fair.
If this bill passes, both Salt Lake City residents and rural voters continue to have true representation in government stolen from them. The bottom line is that this process doesn’t fix gerrymandering, it simply creates new distractions and justifications to further undermine Proposition 4 while keeping specific politicians in power.
This matters to us because the way Utah draws its districts will directly impact whether we have leaders who: |
- Champion clean air and policies that protect us from pollution
- Safeguard Utah’s water resources for our families and future generations
- Fight for health equity, sustainable energy, and public lands that define our way of life
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Immediate actions we can take right now: |
During Public Comment Period (Sept 25 - Oct 5) Flood the Comment System once the final map is released on September 25: |
- Review at redistricting.utah.gov
- Check if your community is kept together
- Your community can be defined by schools, shopping, worship, work, and more
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Submit detailed comments on the interactive maps below (Options A-E)
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Tips for a great comment: Explain how the current proposed maps split your community, and why keeping communities together matters to you
- Share the maps with neighbors - make it personal and local
- Ask your legislators to vote against Sen. Brammer's bill
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When maps are drawn fairly, our communities can elect representatives who actually represent us. Utah’s challenges with air, water, and health cross city and county lines, and our maps should reflect those shared realities. Stewardship means protecting our communities, not carving them up for political gain. Above all, transparency and accountability in this process are non-negotiable. Onward! |
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Stewardship Utah
68 E 2700 S
South Salt Lake City, UT 84115
United States |
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