Gerrymandering ruling backs Utah lawmakers into a corner

Days until the court-mandated deadline for lawmakers to submit new congressional maps (9/24/2025) - 29
Days until Election Day (11/4/2025) - 70
Days to the start of the 2026 Utah Legislature (1/20/2026) - 147
Days until the 2026 midterm elections (11/3/2026) - 434
Days until the 2028 presidential election (11/7/2028) - 1,169

Having covered Utah politics for more than a quarter century, I’m usually as confident as Macbeth that Birnam Wood won’t budge—until once in a while, the trees move and I have to rewrite the act.

Yesterday in this space I argued that if the judge in the gerrymandering case ruled against them, all the Utah Legislature had to do was run out the clock to prevent new congressional maps from going into effect for the 2026 election.

What I did not anticipate was the extremely clever maneuver by Judge Dianna Gibson that could keep the legislature from dodging new maps.

In her ruling, Gibson gave lawmakers until Sept. 24 to draw new congressional maps that follow Proposition 4’s guardrails: no use of partisan data and no splitting municipalities and counties when it can be avoided.

That's just 29 days from now, which is a very aggressive timeline. But it’s aggressive for a reason. During litigation, the lieutenant governor’s office argued that any new maps must be in place by early November for logistical reasons and so candidates can prepare their campaigns.

Here's the clever part.

If the GOP-controlled legislature balks or submits maps that flout Prop. 4, the court takes over. In that case, the plaintiffs or a third party can submit map proposals, and the court will implement one. That renders moot any attempt to “run out the clock.”

Lawmakers still have the right to appeal Gibson's ruling. However, now there's a legitimate question about which maps will govern the 2026 midterms while those appeals unfold. Unless they secure a stay that blocks Gibson’s order, those new court-compliant boundaries are likely to be in place for the midterms.

Yesterday I argued that time was on the legislature's side. If lawmakers could delay until December, they could keep the current lines in place.

Gibson's ruling flips that scenario on its head, turning delay tactics from an asset into a liability.

Time used to be the legislature’s ally. Judge Gibson just turned it into a referee.

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