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Rep. Jim Matheson, R-Utah, wants Utah Gov. Gary Herbert to form an independent commission to guide the redrawing of boundaries for congressional and legislative districts.
He scheduled a news conference for Friday morning to outline details of the proposal, along with Mary Bishop, a board member of Fair Boundaries, a group that unsuccessfully sought to place on the ballot an initiative to create such a commission to recommend new voting maps.
But in a news release on Thursday, Matheson said an independent commission is needed to ensure fairness in redistricting , which occurs every 10 years after a census. Such redrawing is now done exclusively by the Legislature, which has large Republican majorities in both houses.
"Politicians should not be picking their voters. It is voters who should select their representatives," Matheson said in the news release. "Supporters of giving all Utahns the opportunity to have their vote truly count have a proposal that — if adopted — could avoid the cynical, partisan redistricting effort of past years."
Lee Davidson