Utah’s Republican-led Legislature approved a new congressional map (“Option C”) during a special session on Monday Oct. 6, redrawing boundaries under a court order that barred the 2021 plan from use in 2026. The map, which splits Salt Lake County east–west, is projected to keep all four U.S. House districts leaning Republican while making one seat modestly more competitive. Lawmakers advanced the plan largely along party lines; it now heads into court review on a tight timetable, with election officials indicating new lines must be in place by Nov. 10. (The Salt Lake Tribune)
On the same day, lawmakers passed, and the governor signed a bill limiting what statistical tests a judge may use to evaluate partisan gerrymandering to three: partisan symmetry, mean–median, and “ensemble” analyses. Voting-rights plaintiffs immediately filed a new challenge, arguing the change undermines Proposition 4, the voter-approved 2018 redistricting reform, and that Option C remains an unduly partisan map. The judge, who previously struck the 2021 process as unconstitutional, will decide later this month whether the Legislature’s new plan complies with Prop 4; the outcome could shape whether Utah enters the 2026 cycle with four safe GOP seats or at least one genuinely competitive district. Read more in the Salt Lake Tribune and Politico.
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