House Speaker Mike Schultz said state lawmakers and Gov. Spencer Cox are \u201cfully united\u201d in the effort.<\/p>\n
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, left, and House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, hold a news conference at the Utah Capitol to announce their plan to appeal the new congressional district map chosen by Judge Dianna Gibson to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025.<\/p>\n
Responding to a stinging legal defeat in the state\u2019s redistricting battle<\/a>, Utah Republican legislators said Tuesday that they will convene a special session Dec. 9 to put a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot in an effort to ensure lawmakers have the ability to draw political boundaries.<\/p>\n Republican legislative leaders said they also plan to appeal a recent district court ruling implementing new congressional boundaries for the 2026 midterm elections.<\/p>\n The amendment, Sen. President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said Tuesday morning, will clarify that ballot initiatives \u2014 like 2018\u2019s Proposition 4, known as the Better Boundaries initiative \u2014 can\u2019t override the Utah Constitution in ways that cannot be adjusted. Utahns, he said, \u201cdeserve a process that is clear, functional and accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot let unchecked initiatives turn Utah into California,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n During a periodic news conference on PBS Utah later Tuesday morning, Gov. Spencer Cox said he backs the endeavor, and clarified that he plans to call the special session himself. <\/p>\n \u201cI have deep, deep concerns about a state that is run by direct democracy,\u201d Cox said, continuing, \u201cWe have representative democracy for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n (Tess Crowley | Pool) Gov. Spencer Cox responds to a reporter\u2019s question during the PBS Utah Governor\u2019s Monthly News Conference held at the Eccles Broadcast Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025.<\/p>\n The governor said he \u201cvery much\u201d supports a constitutional amendment to clarify the limits he believes representative democracy places on the initiative and referendum processes.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m less worried about redistricting than I am about that piece,\u201d Cox told reporters.<\/p>\n Flanked by a host of GOP lawmakers, legislative leaders also reiterated that they intend to appeal 3rd District Judge Dianna Gibson\u2019s decision to reject a map adopted by the Legislature and choose a map that creates a Democratic-leaning district in northern Salt Lake County once Gibson issues a final, appealable ruling.<\/p>\n Adams said it is also possible that lawmakers will push back the candidate filing deadline \u2014 now beginning Jan. 2 \u2014 to create a window for the appeal with the hope that they can change the map in time for the 2026 election.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not about partisanship,\u201d Adams said, \u201cit\u2019s about protecting the integrity of decisions that shape our representation.\u201d<\/p>\n The details of the constitutional amendment, he said, are still being worked out. <\/p>\n \u201cToday, we stand here together as not just a legislature but as two elected branches of government \u2014 both elected by the people,\u201d said House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper. \u201cThe legislative branch and the executive branch are fully united.\u201d<\/p>\n (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, left, and House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, hold a news conference at the Utah Capitol to announce their plan to appeal the new congressional district map chosen by Judge Dianna Gibson to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025.<\/p>\n Elizabeth Rasmussen, Better Boundaries\u2019 executive director, said news of lawmakers\u2019 amendment effort \u201cfeels like we are repeating what the Legislature tried with Amendment D in 2024.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cInstead of taking a closer look at the concerns Utahns have voiced about representation, we\u2019re seeing recycled ideas that narrow the public\u2019s role,\u201d she added. \u201cBallot initiatives are already a last resort for people who don\u2019t feel heard. Trust in government is low, and proposals like this don\u2019t rebuild it. If this goes to the ballot, Utahns will decide whether it strengthens their voice or shifts more authority to the Legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n Senate and House Democrats, in a statement, condemn the call for a special session and said they \u201ccontinue to believe that Judge Gibson\u2019s ruling should be respected.\u201d <\/p>\n The Democrats said the use of taxpayer money to fund the legal battle was \u201cfiscally irresponsible.\u201d <\/p>\n After the Utah Supreme Court ruled last year<\/a> that the Legislature could not repeal ballot initiatives that \u201calter or reform government\u201d without unconstitutionally undermining citizens\u2019 right to the initiative process, lawmakers rushed to ask voters to change the state constitution in 2024. <\/p>\n In an emergency special session, the Legislature voted to put Amendment D on the ballot. If passed, it would have amended the Utah Constitution to explicitly state that lawmakers can repeal or amend any initiative. <\/p>\n The Supreme Court ultimately ordered votes on the effort not to be counted, ruling the wording to describe Amendment D on the ballot \u2014 written by legislative leaders \u2014 was deceptive and would have misled voters<\/a> by saying it would strengthen the initiative right, when the amendment would have severely undermined it.<\/p>\n The issue stems from the Legislature\u2019s decision in 2021 to essentially repeal the 2018 Better Boundaries initiative to institute an independent redistricting process and ban partisan gerrymandering. The Supreme Court\u2019s 2024 ruling declared lawmakers\u2019 actions to repeal that voter-passed law unconstitutional and, in August, Gibson ruled they must adhere to Proposition 4 and directed the Legislature to draw new congressional boundaries.<\/p>\n Republican legislators adopted a map that favored the GOP, but Gibson rejected that map, finding that it was also a partisan gerrymander and was drawn using partisan data \u2014 both violations of Proposition 4. <\/p>\n Minutes after the judge\u2019s near-midnight decision, Rep. Matt MacPherson, R-West Valley City, said on social media<\/a> that he had \u201copened a bill to file articles of impeachment\u201d against Gibson \u201cfor gross abuse of power, violating the separation of powers and failing to uphold her oath of office to the Utah Constitution.\u201d <\/p>\n