Overview
- League of Women Voters of Utah, Mormon Women for Ethical Government and individual plaintiffs filed a new complaint and requested an injunction against S.B. 1011 after lawmakers passed a new congressional map in special session.
- S.B. 1011, signed by Governor Spencer Cox, requires three metrics to judge maps: partisan bias, a mean–median difference capped at 2 percentage points, and an ensemble analysis in which plans must fall within the central 95%.
- Plaintiffs submitted two alternative maps for the court’s consideration, including one selected from 10,000 simulated plans and another adapted from the Legislature’s Option C, arguing their proposals minimize municipal splits compared with the enacted map.
- Bill sponsor Sen. Brady Brammer defended the statute as implementing objective methods, noting two of the tests were proposed by Democrats, while legislative attorneys cite the court’s order allowing lawmakers to set judicial standards and methods.
- The court set an expedited schedule with briefs and expert reports due Oct. 17, evidentiary hearings on Oct. 23–24, and a final map to be selected by Nov. 10, with no separate hearing yet set on the injunction request.