NEW: Decide Permits Crimson State Legislature To Enchantment Crucial Redistricting Choice
The Utah State Legislature will have the opportunity to appeal a key redistricting ruling to the Utah Supreme Court. The ruling could prove consequential in the 2026 midterm elections, as Democrats are currently set to pick up at least one seat in the deep red state thanks to previous redistricting rulings.
Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson announced Friday that the legislature will have the ability to appeal one of her rulings, though she cautioned that it may not provide a quick resolution. In the late Friday night order, Judge Gibson noted that the legislature repeatedly ignored opportunities to appeal her rulings since August.
“The December 22,2025 hearing confirmed what the Court suspected,” she said, referencing a hearing earlier this week. “With election deadlines imminent, the Legislative Defendants repeatedly stated they intended to appeal but then intentionally elected not to utilize the more appropriate appellate tools available to them.”
While time is indeed running out, Gibson stated that she will allow the legislature to appeal an August and September ruling she made.
Gibson refused to close the case outright, and instead directed the matter to the state’s high court. “The Court leaves it to the Utah Supreme Court to determine if, as a matter of law, this suffices to establish appellate jurisdiction,” she wrote in her order, which was obtained by Fox 13 Utah.
The redistricting ruling in Utah stems from a lawsuit challenging the state legislature’s congressional maps as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander and the repeal of Proposition 4, a 2018 voter-approved ballot initiative that established an independent redistricting commission and prohibited the use of partisan data in map-drawing. The case, League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature, argues that the legislature’s actions violated the Utah Constitution by infringing on the people’s right to alter their government and ensure fair elections.
Back in August, Judge Gibson ruled that the legislature’s repeal of Proposition 4 was unconstitutional, ordering the legislature to redraw congressional maps in compliance with Proposition 4’s neutral criteria by September 24, 2025. She later denied the legislature’s request for a stay pending appeal in a follow-up ruling a month later.
The Utah Supreme Court on September 15, 2025, then denied a petition to retain the 2021 maps, requiring a new map by September 25, 2025.
On November 10, 2025, Judge Gibson found that the legislature’s proposed Map C violated Proposition 4 by constituting an “extreme partisan gerrymander” that unduly favored Republicans at the expense of minority voters, including Democrats. She instead adopted the plaintiffs’ map one as a remedial solution, which draws in one Democrat-controlled district in Northern Salt Lake City.
Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz on Judge Dianna Gibson’s 11th-hour redistricting ruling, saying the delay cost lawmakers their chance at an emergency appeal.
“We just had a judge that took away the people’s voice in making an appeal to the Supreme Court because she waited until… pic.twitter.com/LxG2M1Hdj8
— Heidi Hatch KUTV (@tvheidihatch) November 18, 2025
The Utah State Legislature has maintained it has the sole constitutional authority to draw boundaries in redistricting.
“Until there is a final decision on these legal issues from our Supreme Court, there will be a cloud on Utah’s congressional elections and an open question regarding the power of the Legislature and the power of the people,” Judge Gibson wrote.
“The Utah Supreme Court can decide now if the Legislature is the sole and exclusive authority over redistricting in Utah or if it shares that responsibility with the people. It can decide if the people of Utah, through the exercise of their right to alter or reform government through a citizen initiative, can also pass binding laws regarding how the Legislature performs its redistricting duty.”
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