Judge over gerrymandering case against Utah legislature asks for clarification over tossing maps
SALT LAKE CITY () — The lower court judge presiding over a is asking for the parties to provide more arguments over tossing out Utah's current congressional maps — signaling that a resolution to the suit could be nearing.
According to an order issued March 31, Third District Judge Dianna Gibson is asking for additional information from the lawyers representing the plaintiffs — who are the , , and seven Salt Lake residents.
The group is suing the legislature, arguing that Utah's current congressional boundaries should be thrown out. The plaintiffs argue the legislature violated Utahns' rights when lawmakers overturned a citizen-backed independent commission and its anti-gerrymandering criteria, created by Proposition 4, to draw those lines.
Utah House polls members about overrides on the six 2025 vetoes
Specifically, Judge Gibson is asking for more arguments on whether she can just toss the maps because the legislature didn't comply with Prop 4's criteria, or if an evidentiary hearing would be needed to determine if the maps are indeed unlawful.
'Is that alone sufficient legal basis to grant a permanent injunction of SB 200?' Judge Gibson asked.
Furthermore, the judge wants more arguments on why she should permanently toss the legislature's maps.
'The (plaintiffs) did not cite any legal or factual authority, but an injunction of SB200 was not before the court,' the order says.
The groups argued that because said lawmakers do not have unlimited power to repeal ballot initiatives; rather, when an initiative 'alters or reforms' government, any changes must be 'narrowly tailored to advance a compelling government interest,' the same standard should apply to the permanant injunction.
'Please clarify the legal basis for Plaintiffs' position that a permanent injunction of SB 2004 is an appropriate remedy if the court grants Plaintiffs' Motion…' Judge Gibson writes.
The order asks for the additional arguments by the end of the day on April 8, at which point the legislature would have about a week to file its response. The plaintiffs would be given another opportunity to reply if they choose to do so.
It's unclear when a ruling in the case might be coming, and the order does not mean the ruling will toss out the maps. However, it does signal that the judge has gotten to the point where she's asking about what the remedy might be.
This complex case started back in 2018, when a , was passed by voters, creating an independent redistricting commission to draw the new boundaries Utah uses today.
In 2020, the Utah Legislature watered down Prop 4, — and the plaintiffs argue those maps are gerrymandered.
In 2022, the plaintiffs sued, arguing the lines 'crack' Salt Lake into four districts to dilute minority votes in the Republican stronghold and that Utahns have a constitutionally protected right to 'alter and reform' their government — which they attempted to do via Prop 4.
In 2024, the that top lawmakers called the worst decision they've ever seen. That ruling kicked the case back to the lower courts to determine its fate.
In January of 2025, the parties argued the merits of the case before Gibson. Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson has asked that the case be finalized before November 1 so that if new lines need to be drawn, they can be drawn before the 2026 midterm elections.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
18% rise in Utah homelessness should be ‘battle cry' for lawmakers to do more, SLC mayor says
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall holds a news conference outside City Hall in Salt Lake City to urge the Utah Legislature to support more funding for homeless services on Aug. 13, 2025. (Katie McKellar/Utah News Dispatch) Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall has issued yet another call to the Utah Legislature to more seriously consider funding requests to bolster the state's homeless system. The mayor held a news conference on Wednesday hours after the Utah Office of Homeless Services released its annual report — which showed an 18% increase in the number of Utahns experiencing homelessness on a single night in January, according to the 2025 Point-in-Time Count. That number 'should be heard as a battle cry,' Mendenhall said outside City Hall, 'to bring more energy, focus and leadership to this issue by our state Legislature.' Utah homelessness rose 18% in 2025, state report says 'I want to be clear that I'm standing here before you today because I'm deeply concerned about the trajectory of homelessness in the state of Utah and in our capital city,' she said. 'And once more, I'm extremely concerned by the lack of forward momentum from legislative leaders to address this growing statewide crisis.' On Wednesday, Mendenhall pointed to the state's newly released homelessness data as evidence that the state's homeless system is facing growing needs. That report also showed the number of Utah children experiencing homelessness increased by 22% and the number of unhoused Utahns over the age of 64 rose 42%. 'To our state leaders, your partners are here. We are ready and willing to work with you. And the changes that are needed are clear,' Mendenahall said, noting that city leaders have made a proposal to increase homeless shelter capacity, but it lacks state funding. 'As your partners, we have a plan for 1,300 more shelter beds. We have made land available, yet as of today, we have only one-third of the capital funding needed to build the first phase, and not a penny of operational capital.' In response to Mendenhall's call, however, Utah's top Republican leaders — Gov. Spencer Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, and House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper — issued a joint statement saying the state has invested hundreds of millions in homeless services in recent years. And they urged Mendenhall to 'turn down the politics.' 'Over the past five years, the state has made the largest investment in homeless services in our state's history, spending more than $266 million on addressing homelessness. That includes setting aside $25 million to build a transformative campus,' Cox, Adams and Schultz said. They added that across the nation, 'addressing homelessness is primarily a city and county responsibility, but in Utah, the state has stepped up as a committed partner, working alongside local governments and the private sector to find real solutions.' 'The state remains committed to enhancing public safety and maintaining order, but lasting solutions require collaboration and partnership from the city, county and private sector leaders,' they added. While Cox, Adams and Schultz said they've been 'encouraged' by newly-appointed Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd's efforts to improve safety in Salt Lake City, 'it's frustrating to continuously take one step forward and two steps back with Salt Lake City.' 'The city needs to stay focused on its core responsibility of protecting its citizens, keeping streets safe and clean and making our capital a place Utahns can be proud of and visitors want to experience,' they said. 'We urge Mayor Mendenhall to turn down the politics and keep working with us to find practical and lasting solutions to this complex issue. Our citizens expect results, not finger-pointing.' This marks the second time in less than a month that the mayor of Utah's capital city has called on the Republican-controlled Legislature to take city requests more seriously for more funding to more holistically address crime, substance abuse, affordable housing and homeless services. Last month, Mendenhall said she was 'disappointed' in the lack of progress from the Legislature to adhere to a list of recommendations she included the public safety plan she presented in response to demands from state leaders, who had grown frustrated with crime, drugs and illegal camping in Salt Lake City ahead of the 2025 Legislature. With public safety update, 'disappointed' SLC mayor asks state to take city requests more seriously The mayor on Wednesday again pointed to her public safety plan and the actions the Salt Lake City Police Department took to increase enforcement and address homelessness. 'Salt Lake City is making good on our part,' she said. 'But the reality is, this is a humanitarian crisis. This is not something we can police our way out of. … Salt Lake City is taking enforcement as far as we can, and to little avail.' The mayor said Salt Lake City police are on pace to set records for total arrests this year, 'thanks in part to increased proactive policing by our officers.' She also noted that overall citywide crime remains at or below a 16-year low. 'We are enforcing our laws,' she said, 'but the sad reality is that without more mental health treatment, more shelter beds, more permanent supportive housing and more capacity in our jails, too many people remain on our streets.' Mendenhall said it should come as no surprise that the state's homeless population is increasing 'due to financial and economic pressures' along with a longstanding housing shortage and home and rental prices that have skyrocketed over the past five years. 'There are simply not enough options for housing, shelter beds, treatment centers or social services to meet the demand in this state,' she said. The 2026 Utah Legislature's general session is scheduled to convene on Jan. 20. Acknowledging that's months away, Mendenhall said the need is 'startling,' so she's issuing the call now. 'I'm telling you now, in the middle of our warmest months, that the situation is dire,' she said. Mendenhall said local leaders have already started trying to prepare for this winter's emergency shelter response, but they're anticipating a lack of funding to open enough beds, which she said 'should be upsetting to all of us.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'There won't be enough beds,' she said, adding that counties are submitting winter response plans for state approval, but 'I'm very doubtful that those beds will be available. So we almost assuredly will have people on the streets with no option of space to go.' Mendenhall, who sits as a voting member on the Utah Homeless Services Board, said the Utah Office of Homeless Services 'does not have funding to continue those beds' beyond April, though that office has kept about 900 winter shelter beds open into this summer 'because they had the funding from the Legislature to do so.' But beyond this coming winter season, the money will dry up — unless lawmakers approve more. 'So come the end of the winter shelter season, everyone who's in one of the 900-plus beds that were created this year would be out on the streets,' she said. 'And the impact in our downtown core, throughout our neighborhoods and parks and trail system, of 1,000-plus people flooding out with no option of places to go is very alarming.' Mendenhall also reiterated her warning last month that 'progress has stalled' in the effort to create a 1,200- to 1,600-bed homeless campus 'due to inadequate funding to build and non-existent funding to operate a new campus shelter.' State can officially use eminent domain to site a new homeless campus. What now? 'This is unacceptable,' she said. 'I'm calling on our state leaders to recognize the crisis at hand. Step in to join your willing partners in local government, and lead the passage of legislation that will invest both the capital and ongoing operational funding for a new shelter space.' Efforts to site and build that homeless campus are still ongoing, but state officials don't expect it to be built in time for the coming winter. Last fall, the Utah Homeless Services Board set a deadline of Oct. 1, 2025 for the campus to be built, but State Homeless Coordinator Wayne Niederhauser said the siting process is taking longer than expected. 'We are working hard,' Niederhauser told Utah News Dispatch earlier this week, but he said it could be a matter of months before state leaders can finish environmental evaluations on properties they are considering — something he said must be done before state leaders decide whether to move forward with eminent domain powers granted by the 2025 Utah Legislature specifically to site the homeless campus. Niederhauser, however, acknowledged the 'need is huge.' 'We appreciate the acute need, the serious need of this,' he said. 'So we're not letting grass grow under our feet. We're working hard to find a pathway.' The Utah Office of Homeless Services is also working on drafting funding recommendations to include in Gov. Spencer Cox's budget proposal that's usually issued in December. But in recent years, the Utah Legislature has only funded a fraction of what the governor has requested for homeless services. Cox calls for mental health care expansion on Utah State Hospital's 140th anniversary For 2025, Cox initially sought $128 million for homelessness, but in the end lawmakers funded $50 million in additional state spending for emergency shelter, including $25 million for 'low barrier shelter.' Some of that was used to keep winter shelter beds open, while some is also supposed to be used to site and build the new homeless campus. But that's not enough money to both build and fund ongoing operations for the new homeless campus, Mendenhall warned, urging lawmakers to appropriate more. She said over the coming months, city leaders will work with the Utah Office of Homeless Services, the courts system, and Salt Lake County officials will be working to 'bring legislative requests that are needed to right the wrongs in the system that exist today.' 'But,' she said, 'there are no wheels on the bus that we present unless the state moves us forward. We must see action from legislative leadership and our governor to create the change that we know is not only possible, but is desperately needed.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Solve the daily Crossword
Axios
3 days ago
- Axios
Homelessness climbs in Utah, especially for older adults
Homelessness in Utah is worsening, with sharp increases among older adults and veterans, according to a new state report. The big picture: An increasing share of Utah's senior population, many of whom depend on fixed incomes, is unable to keep up with rising housing costs, according to an annual report released Wednesday by the Utah Office of Homeless Services. By the numbers: The number of people experiencing homelessness in Utah rose 18% from the previous year, per a January point-in-time count. Among Utahns over age 64, homelessness grew by 42%, while veterans saw a 36% jump. Children lacking permanent housing increased by 12%. People encountering chronic homelessness saw a 36% rise. Meanwhile, first-time homelessness experienced a 5% uptick between 2023 and 2024, the report showed. What they're saying: "I am deeply concerned about the trajectory of homelessness in the state of Utah and in our capital city," Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in response to the newly released figures during a Wednesday news conference outside city hall. Mendenhall lambasted state lawmakers for their "lack of forward momentum" to address the state's homelessness crisis. The other side: In a joint statement, Gov. Spencer Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams, House Speaker Mike Schultz said state leaders have stepped up to help local governments "find real solutions" to curb homelessness. "It's frustrating to continuously take one step forward and two steps back with Salt Lake City," per the statement that urged Mendenhall to "turn down the politics." Zoom out: The state's homeless rate is 13 per 100,000 people — below the 2024 national rate of 23 per 100,000 people, according to the data. Zoom in: The vast majority of people (95%) included in January's count were in shelters, compared with 18% in 2023, a milestone that state leaders attributed to the expansion of winter shelter capacity.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
‘Utah needs you': National election commission urges Utahns to volunteer as poll workers
Election workers process ballots at the Davis County Administrative Building in Farmington on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) The U.S. Election Assistance Commission — an independent, bipartisan commission charged with ensuring secure, accurate and accessible elections — is launching a national effort to recruit poll workers, including in Utah. 'Utah needs you,' Commissioner Donald Palmer said in an interview with Utah News Dispatch on Friday. Tuesday — which is also Utah's municipal primary — is National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, when the U.S. Election Assistance Commission kicks off a nationwide effort to encourage more people to volunteer at their local county clerks office and sign up to be election workers ahead of the November general election. 'Where there's a primary, there's always going to be a general (election),' Palmer quipped, saying the aim of scheduling National Poll Worker Recruitment Day on the same day of municipal primaries is to recruit more poll workers ahead of the 2025 November election, when voters typically turn out in higher numbers. 'Go see for yourself': These poll workers want to demystify the voting process for you By raising awareness on a day when Utahns are thinking about their local elections, Palmer said he hopes more Utahns will consider being a part of the process this fall. Across the nation, clerks are seeing a 'dramatic decrease in the number of poll workers available,' Palmer said, noting that for the 2024 presidential election, 772,000 Americans served as poll workers, according to the 2024 Election Administration and Voting Survey Report. That's down from what's typically been 1 million. While it's been getting incrementally easier to recruit election volunteers since 2020, recruitment efforts have trended easier since 2020, still about 48% of clerks' elections jurisdictions across the nation reported it's either 'very difficult' or 'somewhat difficult' to find poll workers, according to that survey. Of that 48%, 14.3% said it's 'very difficult' while 33.6% said it's 'somewhat difficult.' While Utah is not facing a dire poll worker shortage, Palmer said he's still encouraging Utahns to volunteer, noting that what he hears most from Utah clerks is a need to help process by-mail ballots since the vast majority of Utah voters use the state's vote-by-mail system. He also said some counties are in more need than others — noting that rural areas with smaller populations often face more challenges recruiting poll workers. In Utah during the 2024 November election, 104,350 people cast ballots in person on Election Day and 36,381 people voted early in person, while about 1.3 million by-mail ballots were cast and counted, according to the national survey. By comparison, Utah only reported 1,110 total poll workers for that election. That survey also showed that in 2025, about 40% of Utah's poll workers were new recruits. Palmer said that shows there's been 'a lot of turnover' and 'a need for poll workers' in Utah — demonstrating that people are not volunteering anymore, likely because they're getting older or are no longer able to. 'We have an aging population of poll workers,' Palmer said. He noted that the survey found the vast majority of poll workers in 2024 were over the age of 40, with nearly 60% ages 61 and older. That includes 31.1% that were between the ages of 61 and 70, and 28.1% that were 71 and older. Republicans are losing trust in elections, even in Utah. What should be done? 'It really does (show) we need to start recruiting younger and middle-aged Americans to really fill the gap. Because at some point, they're going to retire,' he said. Palmer urged younger Utahns — who may not even be aware of the opportunity to serve their communities in this way — to consider being an election worker. 'I really encourage people to try (volunteering) at least one or two elections, because it will give you great insight, and the people that continue on year after year, some of these folks, they absolutely love it. They're going to do it for the rest of their lives,' he said. 'So we really do want young people and other Americans to see the voting process.' He also said more people being involved in local election processes can help combat rising distrust in election security. 'It's right on the ground. You can see how the voting process works,' he said. 'You really do, as a poll worker, get to see the checks and balances within a polling place. You get to see the efforts that go into chain of custody and how we make sure the ballots equate to the number of people that have voted. And the care that's taken with those ballots. … It really is the best place to understand how the voting process works.' 'There really does need to be replacement poll workers as we move to the future,' he said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Solve the daily Crossword
