Utah Senate Democrats Statement on Redistricting Decision

Following the Legislature’s approval of Map C during the October 6 Special Session on Redistricting, members of the Senate and House issued the following statement:

“The Utah Senate and House Minority Caucuses strongly oppose the legislature’s passage of S.B. 1011 and S.B. 1012 (map C) during the Special Session on Redistricting. Of all five maps, Map C guarantees the creation of some of the least competitive districts in the state.

We believe that S.B. 1011—much like S.B. 200 did in 2020—alters the language and intent of Proposition 4. The bill passed today too broadly narrows the methods to determine if boundaries unduly favor a political party.

Proposition 4 clearly outlined that the redistricting process should rely on ‘the best available data and scientific and statistical methods.’ Both Partisan Bias and Mean-Median Difference tests outlined in S.B. 1011 use inadequate measures that allow minority parties to be damaged in states that are lopsided, like Utah.

We remain hopeful that the Utah Third District Court will recognize that this approach does not align with the standards set by Utah voters when they passed Proposition 4.”