⏰ Tick Tock

Tomorrow - Special session on redistricting. (12/9/2025)
25 days - Candidate filing opens for the 2026 midterm elections (1/2/2026)
32 days - Last day for candidates to file for the 2026 midterm elections. (1/9/2026)
43 days - Start of the 2026 Utah Legislature (1/20/2026).
99 days - Neighborhood caucus night. (3/17/2026)
138 days - Utah Democratic Party's state nominating convention (4/25/2026)
197 days - Utah's 2026 primary election (6/23/2026)
330 days - 2026 midterm elections (11/3/2026)
1,065 days - 2028 presidential election (11/7/2028)

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📰 Above the fold

Utah’s special legislative sessions are, by design, fast and often rushed. Lawmakers scramble to make urgent fixes that can’t wait until the regular legislative session in January - usually addressing a pressing budget issue or closing an unexpected loophole in the law.

Tomorrow’s special session is unusually aggressive: the GOP-controlled Legislature is seeking to buy time and blunt court-ordered consequences in the Utah redistricting lawsuit.

The proposed changes on Tuesday’s agenda include altering the filing deadline and signature requirements for congressional candidates, changing the rules when government officials and entities appeal a court ruling, and sending any redistricting cases directly to the Utah Supreme Court.

Lawmakers will consider all of those substantive proposals tomorrow while freezing the public out of the process.

Typically, bills go to a standing committee, where lawmakers debate the proposal and the public has a chance to offer testimony and weigh in. For special session legislation, those hearings happen during interim committee meetings.

That won’t be the case on Tuesday. Because the final interim committee meetings were last month, the proposed legislation will head straight to the House or Senate floor without public testimony.

As of Monday morning, none of the proposed pieces of legislation have been posted to the legislature’s website, leaving the public little time to review what their representatives plan to vote on Tuesday evening.

These are not insignificant changes. For instance, moving the filing deadline for congressional candidates means a shorter campaign, giving an advantage to the four Republican incumbents and Democratic challengers who may be more established than other hopefuls.

  • The compressed timeline leaves less time for candidates to introduce themselves to voters, hindering efforts to overcome opponents with stronger name recognition.
  • Incumbents have existing campaign infrastructure and donor networks. Challengers will have less time to raise money and build campaign teams and volunteer operations, limiting ballot access efforts.

UPDATE - Late Monday morning, lawmakers hastily announced the Government Operations Interim Committee would meet on Tuesday afternoon to hold a hearing on several proposed bills for the Special Session.