November ballot initiative aims to redraw Utah voting districts
Aug 3, 2018, 9:20 AM | Updated: 9:26 am
Utah lawmakers and Better Boundaries Utah say they have reached a deal "in principal" on Proposition 4, also known as the anti-gerrymandering initiative. (File image)
(File image)
SALT LAKE CITY — Voters will get a chance this November to decide whether they want a new independent citizen’s commission to determine how voting lines are drawn after the 2020 census.
“It’s Prop 4 on the ballot to establish an independent redistricting commission to draw the maps after the 2020 census for the state legislature seats, the state board of education seats, and the congressional district seats, ” said Dixie Hoffner with the Utah Citizens Council on KSL’s A Woman’s View.
Right now redistricting is decided by the state legislature. Hoffner says the current redistricting laws don’t protect either party.
“It’s designing the maps in such a way to protect incumbents, protect the party in power,” Hoffner said.
“It has meant the ideological views of both the let and the right have taken predominance over the centrist positions of ‘Come, let us work together,'” Hoffner said.
If passed, the new commission would not be able to decide the lines based on partisan voting, but instead on county and city boundaries, natural geography, and communities of interest while meeting population requirements.
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