“Elections should be determined by voters, not by politicians who draw maps to serve their own political interests,” said Paul Smith, senior vice president at Campaign Legal Center, which is representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, along with two local firms. “Utah’s courts can help make sure every vote counts and every voice is heard by blocking the implementation of the gerrymandered congressional map and reinstating Proposition 4′s critical redistricting reforms.
Several nonpartisan analyses of the Legislature’s maps indicated that the body would have been hard-pressed to give Republicans a greater advantage. The Independent Redistricting Commission, by comparison, proposed three congressional maps that had three safe Republican districts and one with a slight Democratic advantage.The legislative maps also “cracked” Salt Lake County, which is both the state’s Democratic bastion and the most diverse county in the state, into four parts such that one could walk a few miles and set foot in each of the state’s congressional districts.
“Unfair maps and gerrymandering dilute the voices of communities and consequently hurt voters of all parties,” said Catherine Weller, President of League of Women Voters of Utah. “We call on the court to block these unfair maps and let the voters of Utah choose who best represents them.”
Having all four districts represent equal portions of urban and rural areas as the new maps do is fair and equal.
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: washingtonpost - 🏆 95. / 72 Read more »
Source: ABC - 🏆 471. / 51 Read more »
Source: commondreams - 🏆 530. / 51 Read more »