Partisan gamesmanship was on full display this past week during the latest installment of Utah’s Districting Wars. The only thing both sides seem to agree on is that losing power is never an option.
For years, groups including Better Boundaries have been attempting to break the monopoly that Republicans have on our state’s congressional delegation. Back in 2018, the Democrats managed to win the 4th District U.S. House seat for the first time since a starter home in Park City didn’t require a trust fund.
Our Legislature could not help but look for ways to mitigate their loss by redrawing the map in 2021, and boom, they redistricted and restored the monopoly Republicans have on our congressional delegation.
Grassroots organizations like Better Boundaries fought back and proposed a ballot initiative called Prop 4 that, once passed in 2018, mandated that an independent districting commission be formed to draw the congressional districts. Once again, our Legislature could not help but try to ignore the voters.
That changed last year when the Utah Supreme Court finally stepped in and reminded lawmakers who they work for. In a decision that surprised almost everyone, the Court upheld Prop 4 and made it clear that the Legislature cannot ignore a voter-approved law when it becomes inconvenient. The ruling didn’t redraw the lines, but it confirmed that voters, not politicians, set the rules of the redistricting game.
So this past week, the state Legislature adopted its favorite of the four maps that came out of the 10-member bipartisan committee. The “compromise map” maintains two solid Republican seats and has two that are competitive. With the demographic shifts taking place in our state, this new Map C could one day send two Democrats to Congress.
But the story isn’t over. Because Prop 4 is still the law of the land, this new Map C isn’t final until the courts say so. The Legislature may have picked its favorite, but the Utah Supreme Court will have the last word on whether it meets the standards voters demanded when they created the independent redistricting commission. In short, the map may be approved, but it’s not yet settled.
The folks fighting for new congressional districts may start celebrating a minor victory, but before anyone in Summit County gets too smug about legislative gerrymandering, they might want to take a look in the mirror. Our own Summit County Council has been doing its own version of fighting districting by slow-walking the process outlined in H.B. 365.
Under last spring’s legislation, counties with a council-manager form of government were required to create a districting commission, take public input, and adopt new district boundaries by Oct. 1. Strangely enough, the Summit County Council managed to miss that deadline.
The bipartisan commission did its job, held hearings, overcame delays, and unanimously passed and delivered a five-district map. The County Council’s response? Delay, deflect and hold open public comment until a “date certain.” In legislative terms, that’s called running out the clock, probably in the hope of the Legislature revisiting H.B. 365 in the County Council’s favor.
Once again, our Legislature could not help itself and came back with H.B. 1005. Watching Summit County’s creative interpretation of H.B. 365, lawmakers stripped out any discretion the council had. The new bill forces adoption of the commission’s map if it meets legal criteria, allows the clerk to assign current members to their districts, and explicitly bans at-large seats.
And unlike H.B. 365, the new bill contains substantial penalties. H.B. 1005 explicitly authorizes any voter in the county to bring a civil suit if the commission fails to follow the law. Should the voter prevail, the county must pay court costs and attorney fees. Additionally, if a county does not implement the required districts or holds an illegal at-large election, the State Tax Commission is directed to withhold a portion of that county’s tax disbursements until the county complies.
In the past week’s battles of the Utah Districting Wars, we watched the Legislature get taken to task by the Utah Supreme Court, then turn around and take Summit County to task. The Legislature lost one fight and won the other. But in both cases, power got a reminder that it answers to someone.
In the end, neither politicians nor those in power can seem to help themselves. When power is on the line, Republicans at the state level redraw maps to keep it, and Democrats in Summit County stall reform to protect it. Both forget the simplest lesson of all. Voters are supposed to choose their representatives, not the other way around. Until that sinks in, we will continue to witness Utah’s Districting Wars.
Ari Ioannides, chair of the Summit County Republicans, is a recovering tech entrepreneur, founder of BootUP PD, and serves on local government and nonprofit boards. He offers a conservative perspective on local politics. He can be reached at [email protected]