Utah lawmakers have less than one month to put new congressional district maps in place ahead of the 2026 election — and time is already winding down.
But whether — and how — the state’s supermajority Republican Legislature heeds or pushes back against the decision is yet to be seen.
Nearly four years after legislators adopted a map that split the heart of Salt Lake County among the state’s four congressional seats, 3rd District Court Judge Dianna Gibson ordered Monday that lawmakers abandon those boundaries. The quartered area is one of the state’s most densely populated, and typically one of its bluest.
Instead, she wrote, legislators will need to approve districts that comply with an initiative enacted by voters in 2018 requiring independent redistricting and banning partisan gerrymandering.
The Legislature previously tossed out three maps recommended by an independent redistricting commission organized under the 2018 Better Boundaries effort in favor of their own.
Gibson set a 5 p.m. deadline on Sept. 24 for lawmakers to enact a new map. If the plaintiffs — including the League of Women Voters, Mormon Women for Ethical Government and a handful of affected voters — or “other interested parties” don’t think the new boundaries are lawful, they have until 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 3 to file an objection with the court.
Sometime between Oct. 9 and 14, Gibson wrote, her court will hold a hearing on any objections. Lawyers for the plaintiffs and the Legislature, upon mutual agreement, can alter the timeline. They are scheduled to discuss the path forward in the ongoing case Friday.
The decision aligns with what the group challenging the Legislature’s redistricting asked for when they last appeared before Gibson. In January, Campaign Legal Center attorney Aseem Mulji, arguing for plaintiffs, said he expected the Legislature could establish new maps in as little as a month after a ruling.
“The Legislature has had the [independent redistricting] commission’s maps on its desk for three years now,” Mulji said in the courtroom.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Despite the agenda set by Gibson appearing straightforward and coinciding with an expected September special session of the Legislature, lawmakers will likely take action to avoid invalidating their maps.
A spokesperson for Gov. Spencer Cox did not answer questions about whether the governor will instruct lawmakers to comply with the order during a likely special session next month, nor what directions he would include in a proclamation.
In a statement, Cox said, “The decision is not a surprise after the Supreme Court’s ruling last summer. While I respect the role of the courts in our system, I continue to disagree with that decision.”
Spokespeople for the Utah Senate and House of Representatives also did not respond when asked whether lawmakers plan to adopt new congressional maps in an upcoming special session. They have so far not answered any inquiries from The Salt Lake Tribune on Gibson’s ruling and whether the Legislature will appeal it.
On Monday, Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz said in a joint statement sent to other members of the media that they were “disappointed by the court’s decision.”
“We remain committed to protecting the voices of Utahns and upholding the Legislature’s state and federal constitutional authority to draw congressional districts,” they wrote. “We will carefully review the ruling and consider our next steps.”
David Reymann, one of the attorneys representing plaintiffs, said there are a few directions the Legislature could take.
It could follow Gibson’s order and produce a map, and then defend it at the mid-October hearing. Lawmakers’ lawyers could also appeal the district court’s ruling to the Utah Supreme Court.
Amid an appeal, the Legislature could either continue with the process outlined by Gibson or ask justices to pause her ruling while they make their case. They would first have to ask Gibson to delay her own order.
“They’ve appealed and sought delay at every single turn, and so I wouldn’t be surprised if they followed suit here,” Reymann said, noting that he expects the Legislature to appeal and ask that Gibson’s order be put on hold.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, attorneys for the Legislature had not filed anything with the court indicating which route they will take, nor had General Counsel Victoria Ashby responded to questions from The Tribune.
Reymann said he would be “surprised,” however, if his opponents did not seek to appeal and have Gibson’s order before the status conference set for Friday in district court.
Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Utah’s top election official and another defendant in the case, has asked that congressional maps be finalized before Nov. 1 so candidates can file for the 2026 election.