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Read Utah Judge Dianna Gibson’s ruling rejecting the Legislature’s congressional map

At the end of nearly four years of litigation, Gibson ruled that a map picked by GOP lawmakers was an “extreme” gerrymander.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Plaintiff Malcom Reid testifies during a hearing for congressional redistricting maps before Judge Diana Gibson in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025.

Just before midnight Monday, Utah Judge Dianna Gibson issued a bombshell ruling rejecting new congressional boundaries proposed by the Republican Legislature and picking another map that creates a district heavily favoring Democrats in the state.

“[The Legislature’s map] is an extreme partisan outlier—more Republican than over 99% of expected maps drawn without political considerations," Gibson wrote.

“In addition,” the judge wrote, “[the map] fails in many ways to comply with Proposition 4. First, [it] was drawn with partisan political data on display. [It] does not abide by Proposition 4’s traditional redistricting criteria ‘to the greatest extent practicable.’ And, based on the evidence presented, the Court finds that [it] was drawn with the purpose to favor Republicans ...and it unduly favors Republicans and disfavors Democrats.”

Read Gibson’s full, 89-page ruling here:

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