Fair representation is the hallmark of our democracy. The Utah Legislature’s abandonment of the recommendation of the Independent Redistricting Commission, we believe, undermines our democracy and prevents voters from choosing their own representatives. Instead, the Utah Legislature devised congressional maps that let them pick which voters they had to listen to and which they could ignore.
As the president of the League of Women Voters of Salt Lake, I participated in the virtual public meetings of the Independent Redistricting Commission. One of the primary reasons the Legislature discounted the work of the commission was solely and clearly to serve the members’ own interests.
The commission did not include incumbency in their criteria for drawing maps. Instead, they chose rational criteria based on input from citizens across the state. A nonpartisan, community-based and transparent process for drawing congressional maps results in representatives who are responsive to the needs of citizens, not a few powerful politicians who manipulate the process to choose to pick their constituents. In a democracy, the voters pick their representatives.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization which encourages informed and active participation in government. And as a nonpartisan organization, we are committed to fight for a strong democracy with fair election procedures. For this reason, the LWV of Utah has joined a lawsuit challenging the legislative overturn of Proposition 4 and the Legislature’s disregard for the actions of the Redistricting Commission and the wishes of the voters of Utah. The lawsuit seeks to reinstate the independent redistricting commission that Utahns voted for.
The result of the Utah Legislature’s offensive and disrespectful action is gerrymandering, plain and simple. Gerrymandering allows powerful partisan politicians to control our destiny for yet another decade, putting their own interests ahead of Utah voters. Utahns want a transparent process we can trust, where communities remain together and where voters have an equal voice. Consequently, this unacceptable action by the Legislature requires a reciprocal monumental and mighty challenge.
The legislators drew gerrymandered congressional maps without public input. They did it behind closed doors and effectively managed to decide for themselves which voters to value and which to disrespect and ignore. Our hope is that this lawsuit will shine a light on the self-promoting legislators and allow Utah to take a step forward toward a true democracy, rather than continue to misuse their majority to disenfranchise so many of us.
Jan Striefel | League of Women Voters Salt Lake City
Jan Striefel is president of the League of Women Voters Salt Lake City.