Gerrymandering promotes non-responsiveness by creating safe, non-competitive election districts for those in power. Your vote is your voice. Make it count by supporting redistricting reform and an independent process.

The Utah State Constitution states:

Article I, Section 2.   [All political power inherent in the people.]

All political power is inherent in the people; and all free governments are founded on their authority for their equal protection and benefit, and they have the right to alter or reform their government as the public welfare may require.

Making The Case: Need for Redistricting Reform

• 71% of Utah voters gave legislature a grade of C or worse when it failed to enact redistricting reform. (March 2009)

• Reagan warned Americans in 1989 about the conflict of interest legislators have in drawing their own districts. 

• “Utah’s GOP lawmakers perpetuated a ‘scam’ that resulted in ‘disenfranchisement’ of Beehive State voters.” (Editorial, Wall Street Journal, 2001)

• Utahns don't participate. UT has the second worst voter turnout in the nation. Surrounding states that enacted redistricting reform saw voter turnout increase. Voter turnout in UT declined 5.6% from 2004 to 2008, the largest drop in the nation.

•  Many UT districts don’t correspond to existing municipal, political, cultural, economic and geographical boundaries. They combine rural and urban districts carve up small cities and divide counties.

• Surrounding states of AZ, MT, and ID all use independent commissions to draw redistricting maps. CO uses a political commission, with members drawn from both parties.

• Proposal endorsed by KSL, Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, Tooele Transcript, Logan Herald Journal News, Summit County, North Salt Lake, Sanpete County Council, Logan City Council, Grand County Council,  AARP, NCJW, politicians of both parties, Southern UT Univ. Campus Libertarians, Utah Citizens’ Counsel, UT League of Independent Voters, UT Democratic Party

What Fair Boundaries Proposes:

• 11 member independent commission
• No more than 4 members from same political party
• Anti-gerrymandering standards
• Open, transparent process
• Appointments by UT Assn. of Counties, UT League of Cities & Towns, and State School Board
• 4 citizen applicants selected by first 7 appointees
• Decennial requirement for redistricting (following census)
• Neutral scoring matrix for map analysis
• Map recommendation to legislature for reapportionment

Some examples of gerrymandering in Utah...

Congressional Districts

• In the Deseret News, Senator Bob Bennett R-UT called it the worst case of gerrymandering he'd ever seen
• Communities with similar economic, cultural and social characteristics are divided, making them less compact
• Drawing districts covering urban and rural areas means a district loses “compactness”, a redistricting principle recognized by the courts

House Districts

Moab, the most populous city in Grand County is split in half down its main street: 

Ogden's house districts slice up the city in odd ways: 

This complicated district splits several rural counties:

Summit County is split into two House Districts by dividing Park City in half:

The other half of Park City combined with Salt Lake City:

Utah Senate Districts

Tooele County is split into four Senate districts, despite requests from the Tooele County Commission and the county's Democratic and Republican parties to keep it in one district:

Tooele is combined with communities in as many as seven other counties

Senate District 27 stretches all the way from Utah County to the four corners area of San Juan County: