Federal court rejects GOP-led effort to block House map that helps Democrats in Utah

New voting districts in Utah that give Democrats a better chance of winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives can be used in this year’s election, a federal court ruled Monday while rejecting a Republican request to block the new map.

The ruling marks the second setback in recent days for Republicans, who also lost an appeal to the Utah State Supreme Court.

A Utah judge imposed the new districts last November after overturning congressional districts adopted by the Republican-led Legislature after the 2020 census. The judge ruled that the Legislature had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters.

The ruling thrust Utah into a national redistricting battle between states ahead of the midterm elections. President Donald Trump has pressured Republican-led states like Texas, Missouri and North Carolina to redraw their districts to give the GOP an advantage in November elections, prompting Democratic-led states like California and Virginia to respond with their own redistricting plans.

Republicans currently hold all four U.S. House seats in Utah. The new map imposed by Judge Diana Gibson last fall keeps almost all of Salt Lake County within one district, rather than dividing the heavily Democratic population center between the four districts, as was previously the case. It was filed by the plaintiffs in the suit, the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government.

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Republicans argued that the judge did not have the legal authority to enact a map that had not been approved by the Legislature.

But a three-judge panel in a district court rejected Republicans’ request for a preliminary injunction against the use of the new map in this year’s elections. The federal court said Republicans were unlikely to prevail in their argument, and said it was too late for judges to interfere in the election.

The filing period for congressional candidates in Utah begins March 9, the caucus is scheduled for March 17, and the state caucuses are scheduled for April 25. The court noted that some candidates are already campaigning.

“An active primary is underway, and the election is too close for the court to interfere,” the court wrote, adding: “The potential for voter confusion poses a significant risk if the commission approves the current election map.”