Utah Congress members sue to try to block new House districts that boost Democrats' chances

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — With the deadline to file for reelection a little over a month away, two of Utah's Republican members of Congress are asking a federal court to block the use of new U.S. House districts that could significantly boost Democrats' chances of winning a Salt Lake City area seat in November.

A lawsuit filed late Monday by U.S. Reps. Celeste Maloy and Burgess Owens and nearly a dozen local officials contends a state judge violated the U.S. Constitution last year when she rejected congressional districts drawn by the Republican-led state Legislature and instead imposed an alternative map submitted by groups suing the Legislature.

The U.S. Constitution and Utah Constitution both give redistricting powers to the state Legislature, the lawsuit asserts, and “courts have no authority to draw a congressional map.” The lawsuit contends Utah's districts should revert to those last approved by the Legislature in 2021, unless lawmakers come up with new ones.

Utah is one of several states still locked in legal battles over House voting districts ahead of the midterm elections this fall.

A judge last month ordered a New York commission to redraw the only Republican-held U.S. House seat in New York City after ruling that the district unconstitutionally dilutes the votes of Black and Hispanic residents. Republicans quickly appealed.

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering an appeal of a Democratic-backed congressional redistricting plan approved by California voters. And Missouri courts are weighing a variety of legal challenges to a new U.S. House map passed by the state's Republican-led Legislature.

Redistricting took on an unusual urgency after President Donald Trump prodded Republicans in Texas to reconfigure their U.S. House districts last year to try to give the party an advantage in the midterm election. A mid-decade gerrymandering battle then erupted in several states and is continuing to play out this month in Democratic-led Maryland and Virginia.

Republicans currently hold all four of Utah's U.S. House seats based on districts drawn by state lawmakers after the 2020 census.

State Judge Dianna Gibson ruled in August that those districts violated standards approved by voters in 2018 to ensure districts don’t deliberately favor a party, a practice known as gerrymandering. In November, Gibson rejected a replacement map passed by the Legislature and instead imposed an alternative map submitted by the lawsuit's plaintiffs, the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government.

The revised map keeps the Democratic stronghold of Salt Lake County almost entirely within one district, instead of dividing it among all four districts.

“The map currently in place is fair and legal," Katharine Biele, president of the League of Women Voters of Utah, said in response to the new federal lawsuit.

Meanwhile, the Legislature's attorneys have asked the state Supreme Court to overturn Gibson's ruling.

Over the weekend, Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill expanding the high court from five justices to seven. New justices, who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate, could be in place to help decide the fate of the congressional map. Cox has denied that the change is politically motivated.

Utah candidates typically must file for election by Jan. 8. But Utah lawmakers pushed back this year's filing deadline to March 13 for congressional candidates.

Neither Maloy nor Owens has yet filed for reelection, and “their districts have been shifted to a point where the Representatives do not know which district to choose,” their lawsuit states.

Republicans have also been collecting signatures to try to place on the November ballot an initiative that would repeal Utah's anti-gerrymandering standards.

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Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri.