Overview
- Legislative experts testified that Map C satisfies partisan-symmetry standards, with Caltech’s Jonathan Katz dismissing the efficiency gap as a proper symmetry measure and BYU’s Michael Barber saying the map is not a partisan outlier.
- Plaintiffs’ experts, including Jowie Chen and Chris Warshaw, argued Map C is an extreme partisan outlier based on large-scale simulations and criticized the Legislature’s partisan bias and mean–median tests as ill-suited to Utah.
- Judge Dianna Gibson must select a map for the 2026 elections by Nov. 10, choosing between the Legislature’s Map C and two plans submitted by the plaintiffs, under a timeline set by Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson.
- Further hearings are set for Nov. 4 on the new law (S.B. 1011) codifying three fairness tests and Nov. 5 on challenges to GOP initiative efforts tied to Proposition 4.
- The Utah Republican Party withdrew its indirect initiative and filed a direct statewide initiative to repeal Proposition 4, raising the signature requirement to about 140,000 and prompting cancellation of prior public meetings in favor of Nov. 3 hearings.