California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about the "Election Rigging Response Act" at a press conference on August 14, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The lawsuit in Utah arose from redistricting changes that began in 2018. Utah voters passed Proposition 4, also known as the "Better Boundaries" initiative, that year to reform the redistricting process and create an independent commission to oversee it.
But the state legislature passed a bill two years later that overrode that measure and stripped the commission of its power by reducing it to an advisory body. Lawmakers then bypassed the commission entirely by drawing congressional maps seen as strongly favoring Republicans.
The new map split Salt Lake City four ways, which voting rights groups, including the League of Women Voters of Utah and the Mormon Women for Ethical Government, alleged illegally broke up the state’s only blue-leaning urban region in violation of the standards set forth by Proposition 4.
TRUMP, ABBOTT VS. NEWSOM: MAD DASH TO REDO CONGRESSIONAL MAPS IN CALIFORNIA, TEXAS
Sen. Mike Lee speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, warned Monday ahead of Gibson’s ruling that "almost anything promoted as an ‘independent commission’ is often a strategy to give Democrats an edge they can’t win through fair elections."
"We the people need to halt this trend. To do so, we must first grasp what these independent commissions truly represent," Lee wrote in a lengthy X post. "In a state like Utah, they’re essentially a mechanism for the left to grab power they can’t get through democratic elections."
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Utah’s redistricting dispute comes after Texas’ legislature passed new maps this month that give Republicans an advantage in the upcoming midterms. President Donald Trump encouraged the move and celebrated it as a "BIG WIN," while state Democrats temporarily fled the state in protest over the new map.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, responded to what he said was a Trump-led power grab by advancing a hasty plan to suspend his own state’s map, drawn by an independent commission, and pass a new one in a special election this year to offset Republicans’ gains in Texas. In a press conference, Newsom said Democrats need to "play hardball" to stand a chance against a Republican Party led by Trump. Trump vowed on Monday to sue Newsom over the map.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
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