In the previous installment of the blog series “Gerrymandering 101,” we discussed how gerrymandering makes it easier for a politician and members of their own party to win elections and hurts both voters and our democracy. But while the harms of gerrymandering cannot be ignored, it is possible combat gerrymandering and ensure that voters can…

SALT LAKE CITY — It’s that time of year, when lawmakers return to Capitol Hill from their winter break and begin the process of passing a multi-billion dollar budget and hundreds of bills. This year, they’ll deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, water conservation, Utah’s exploding growth and explore tax cuts. In the aftermath of…

“It provides accountability to the redistricting process.” “We need representation that understands the diversity of this area.” “As a voter in a rural area I’m entirely uncomfortable with my vote being used to dilute the power of another.” These are just some of the hundreds of emails obtained by the Deseret News and KSL Investigates…

Interested in a redistricting primer? Check out this interactive feature from the NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/11/07/us/politics/redistricting-maps-explained.html?referringSource=articleShare

KUTV November 15, 2021 TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (KUTV) — Wendy Davis and Lynette Wendel, both democrats, nearly unseated long-time Republican state lawmakers Steve Eliason and Jim Dunnigan in 2020. The races were so close, they felt confident they could beat them in the next election, but now the women say those hopes were dashed when district…

Wednesday, November 10, 2021 Launched on Monday, November 8th as it became clear that the Utah Legislature was determined to ignore the will of the people and enact egregious partisan and incumbent protection gerrymanders, the Better Boundaries Accountability PAC’s goal is more responsive and accountable elected officials. The PAC will strategically deploy funds in the…

SALT LAKE CITY – Better Boundaries released the following statement:­­”We are deeply disappointed the Utah Legislative Redistricting Committee disregarded the will of the people and chose to push forward their own set of gerrymandered maps last evening. The legislative committee’s maps, to be voted on in this special session, clearly have no consideration for the…

Late on Friday night, the Legislative Redistricting Committee released four proposed maps, one each for congress, state senate, state house, and state school board. In a side-by-side comparison of the Independent Redistricting Commission’s maps, the legislative maps fail to meet key criteria and do not offer any demonstrable improvements. In fact, two of the maps…

On Monday night, Utah’s first-ever Independent Redistricting Commission unanimously approved 12 maps for recommendation to the Utah State Legislature. The maps score well on all the criteria set out in state statute. For example, they keep cities and counties intact whenever possible. Additionally, all maps were drawn in a transparent process that the public could…