Martha Harris

Emma Petty Adams is with Mormon Women for Ethical Government, which was part of the 2022 lawsuit prompting the new map.

But Republican leaders condemned the ruling, calling the map gerrymandered.

This court ruling happens to come during a redistricting race to draw maps that could help their party keep control of Congress.

For NPR News, I'm Martha Harris in Salt Lake City.

The redistricting in Utah was court ordered.

A Utah judge previously ruled the state needed new boundaries and they had to comply with the state's law banning partisan gerrymandering.

The heavily Republican legislature came up with a proposal, but the judge rejected that map in her Monday ruling.

That's because she ruled it was, quote, drawn with the purpose to favor Republicans.

So she picked another map, one submitted by the plaintiffs in the case.

The chosen map creates one district that favors Democrats.

That means Democrats could flip a seat in Utah in the 2026 midterms.

The state's current House delegation is made up of four Republicans.

For NPR News, I'm Martha Harris in Salt Lake City.

The redistricting in Utah was court-ordered.

A Utah judge previously ruled that the state needed new boundaries, and they had to comply with the state's law banning partisan gerrymandering.

The heavily Republican legislature came up with a proposal.

But the judge rejected that map in her Monday ruling.

That's because she ruled it was, quote, drawn with the purpose to favor Republicans.

So she picked another map, one submitted by the plaintiffs in the case.

The chosen map creates one district that favors Democrats.