This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Since a snowy day last April when our group, RepresentMeUtah!, first rallied for fair redistricting at the Capitol, I have come to realize it is very difficult to explain why the methods we employ for choosing new boundaries is critical to our state.
Yet it is critical, because redistricting affects everything: education, water rights, energy, air quality, tourism, business growth, minority issues and vision.
New boundaries reshape our political landscape. A left- or right-leaning political agenda reaches further left or right when a state's majority party draws the lines without the consent of the public and minority party. In Utah, we're right and heading further to that political outskirt through redistricting.
Utah's new congressional map was hastily drawn on Oct. 17 behind closed doors in a Republican caucus. It was quickly approved after discarding six months of public comment and 200-plus maps drawn and submitted by individuals, sending $1 million down the drain.
When the governor signed this bill, along with the bills that redraw Senate, House and school district maps, the boundaries were set in concrete for a decade.
On the congressional map, if you are a Democrat your vote has been diluted. Each of the four new districts holds an electorate that is at least 62 percent Republican. If you are an independent, you may not vote. Utah has the lowest voter turnout in the nation at 34 percent. Many voters have likely given up.
If you are a moderate Republican, the new boundaries may have diluted your vote as well, and you may be disappointed next year with a caucus system the produces disappointing candidates for public office that veer toward extremism. The congressional map was drawn for political payoff, protecting incumbents by ensuring their districts contain majorities of Republican voters.
Redistricting doesn't mean the demise of Utah government. But it's one more step toward diluting democracy with a trend toward "big brother knows what's best for citizens." A few leaders are in control and able to strong-arm the rest of us. Fall in line, or move, I've been told.
Republican legislators were clear on their own redistricting priority: Send to Congress people who will focus primarily on acquiring federal land. If this unlikely goal is inexplicably achieved, look for a blistering of oil wells on what was once protected land. Our GOP leaders argue that state sovereignty takes precedence over federal land use. But what about individual sovereignty? Where are voters' rights to choose for ourselves, to choose our leaders versus our leaders choosing us? Our government should be open and working for us, not against us.
Citizens have an opportunity here. If 70 percent of registered voters actually vote, many returning to the polls will be the independents (51 percent of registered voters), who can show up by the hundreds of thousands and make an impact on the direction of our state.
But do not think someone else will vote for you. Take time out in 2012 to go to a party caucus meeting in your neighborhood and to vote in the primaries and general election. Help Utah regain its political balance. It's statistically possible.
Kelli Lundgren is a member of RepresentMeUtah!, a citizens group following the redistricting process at http://www.RepresentMeUtah.org