Civic organizations and voters challenged Utah's congressional redistricting map, arguing that the maps were the result of a partisan gerrymander. The State Democracy Research Initiative filed an amicus brief on behalf of Professor Bertrall L. Ross II arguing that partisan gerrymandering is inconsistent with the history of Utah’s Free Elections Clause and the underlying structural principles of the Utah Constitution. In 2024, the Utah Supreme Court held that the legislature may have violated the constitution by repealing a citizen-initiated statute prohibiting partisan gerrymandering.
The State Democracy Research Initiative filed a brief on behalf of Professor Bertrall L. Ross II in the Utah Supreme Court. Professor Ross is the Justice Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the Karsh Center for Law and Democracy at the University of Virginia School of Law. The case, League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature, challenges the partisan gerrymander of Utah’s congressional redistricting map. The brief argues that partisan gerrymandering is inconsistent with the history of Utah’s Free Elections Clause and the underlying structural principles of the Utah Constitution.
On July 11, 2024, the Utah Supreme Court held that the legislature may have violated citizen's right to alter and reform their government when it repealed a citizen-initiated statute that prohibited partisan gerrymandering. A Utah trial court later held that the legislature illegally repealed Proposition 4 and struck down the challenge maps and required the adoption of remedial maps.