NRF Calls on Court to Dismiss Frivolous Attempt to Block Utah’s Fair Congressional Map

Washington, D.C. – Today, a preliminary injunction hearing is set to take place in Powers Gardner v. Henderson, a federal lawsuit brought by a group of Utah elected officials seeking not only to overturn Utah’s fair, court-adopted congressional map, but also to give the state legislature near-total control over federal elections. This new map was adopted by a Utah state district court after the legislature failed to enact a map that complies with Proposition 4, a redistricting reform passed by Utah voters. The National Redistricting Foundation (NRF) has filed an amicus brief opposing the effort to block Utah’s new, fair congressional map.

“The politicians behind this lawsuit are once again trying to circumvent the will of Utahns who voted to reform the redistricting process in their state,” said Marina Jenkins, Executive Director of the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF). “Their argument that state courts do not have the authority to impose remedial maps has been soundly rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court—and the district court must swiftly reject it once again. Granting an injunction this late in the process would erode critical checks and balances meant to protect voters, throw Utah’s elections into chaos, and provide a new path for politicians to gerrymander their states with impunity.”

The NRF’s amicus brief lays out in more detail how the plaintiffs invoke the fringe “independent state legislature theory,” arguing that only the state legislature—not citizen-led ballot measures, not laws enshrined in the state constitution, and not state courts—can create congressional maps. This theory was soundly rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in Moore v. Harper nearly three years ago. Additionally, the NRF points out that the plaintiffs waited nearly three months after the Utah district court ordered this map before filing their lawsuit and are seeking emergency relief just weeks before candidate filing deadlines.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:

In 2023, the NRF played a central role in defeating another effort to push the fringe independent state legislature theory before the U.S. Supreme Court. In a landmark decision in Moore v. Harper, the Supreme Court rejected an attempt in North Carolina to use the theory to overturn a fair, court-adopted congressional map. In that case, the NRF financially supported and directed the legal strategy on behalf of the Harper respondents. To learn more about the NRF’s work, click here. 

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