Victory is not won overnight. Democracy with all its promise is not maintained easily. And the recent Utah Supreme Court ruling on redistricting is a case in point: The citizens of Utah can be reassured that their voices are heard, and that their right to demand fair political districts is preserved so that voters can pick their politicians, not the other way around.
Proposition 4 — the statewide initiative passed in 2018 — was the means to that end and now the Utah Supreme Court reaffirms the citizens’ constitutional right to alter the form of our government. Its unanimous decision holds that “the people’s right to alter or reform the government through an initiative is constitutionally protected from government infringement, including legislative amendment, repeal or replacement of the initiative in a manner that impairs the reform enacted by the people.”
The lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government maintains that the Legislature ignored the will of the voters and created an illegal partisan gerrymander. Utah is, of course, a very Republican state but gerrymandering happens throughout the country as parties seek to maintain their hold on power — and it’s wrong no matter which party does it.
The current division of Salt Lake County into four congressional districts not only dilutes the county’s voting power but disenfranchises its voters. Fair maps simply allow citizens whose voices have long been silenced a means to participate in their government.
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