The Hinckley Institute Radio Hour — This week on the program, a panel of experts discusses the process that went into redrawing Utah’s political boundaries for the next ten years.
Over the last month, the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission and Utah Legislature wrapped up their respective redistricting efforts and presented their maps to the public. They each produced four maps dividing the state into districts for Congress, state school board and for Utah’s house and senate. In a recent special session, the Utah Legislature passed maps with veto-proof majorities in both chambers. Gov. Spencer Cox has since signed these maps into law. Better Boundaries, the organization that ran Prop 4 in 2018 which led to the creation of the redistricting commission, has vocally opposed the maps. In particular, the division of Salt Lake County into four different congressional districts has been the focus of several protests at the Utah State Capitol.
Today’s panel gets into the details of the redistricting processes undertaken by the commission and the Utah Legislature, as well as what these maps mean for political races over the next decade. The panel includes Rex Facer, chair of the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission; Rep. Paul Ray, co-chair of the Legislative Redistricting Committee; Sen. Karen Mayne, minority leader in the Utah Senate; and James Curry, assistant professor of political science at the University of Utah. Moderating today’s discussion is Mallory Bateman, senior research analyst at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.
This forum was recorded on October 18th, 2021.
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