Utah Legislature Passes ‘Grossly Gerrymandered’ Congressional Map: ‘GOP Lawmakers Are Only Interested in Restricting Utahns’ Ability to Elect Leaders of Their Choosing’

Voter-approved organization has formed political action committee ‘to pursue electoral consequences’

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Republican legislators in the Utah Senate and Utah House of Representatives passed the congressional map approved by Republicans in the Utah Legislative Redistricting Committee. It now goes to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s desk, and Cox said last night that he “likely” won’t veto it, according to Deseret News reporter Katie McKellar. The map, which was drawn by Republican Rep. Paul Ray, the committee co-chair, was “grossly gerrymandered,” according to left-leaning advocacy organization Alliance for a Better Utah.

The Senate approved the map after Democratic legislators advocated for a map from the voter-approved Utah Independent Redistricting Commission that Democratic Sen. Derek Kitchen tried to substitute.

After putting forward the map, Kitchen said, “Having three rural voices and one urban voice matches the reality of the makeup of our state.”

In the House, some Republicans voted against the map. That happened after Democratic Reps. Jennifer Dailey-Provost and Clare Collard tried to replace the map with substitute maps, which failed on party-line votes. (Click here and…