Regardless of whether Utah ends up with a fourth congressional district as a result of its legal challenge against the Census, state lawmakers face a huge task this year in redrawing political boundaries — the once-a-decade job that follows the completion of each census. All Utahns should hope they do it right.
Doing it right means doing it fair, and that means following logic more than partisanship.
Doing it right also means recognizing natural communities. As the census showed clearly, Utah has a growing population of minorities, particularly among people of Hispanic origin. Where pockets of any one ethnic group exists, it makes sense to draw boundaries in such a way that it can receive representation in the Legislature. That, in turn, will encourage these newcomers to become politically active.
No one makes a secret of how partisan Utah's redistricting process is every 10 years. The party that dominates the Legislature also dominates the committee that draws the boundaries. Generally, the majority looks for ways to split the minority party so that it can't muster enough support to win a race in key districts.
Ten years ago, the Republican majority redrew the state's 2nd Congressional District so that it excluded a sliver of the western end of Salt Lake County — an area that traditionally votes Democratic. Many of the folks who live in that area weren't aware they had become a part of the 1st District until Election Day.
Today, Democrat Jim Matheson holds the 2nd District seat. There has been talk of further splintering the Democrats in the county to weaken his support. Some have even suggested carving Matheson's Salt Lake home out of his own district, although this technically would not preclude him from holding his seat or running for re-election.
And if the state wins its challenge and the courts rule that overseas missionaries from Utah should be counted in the Census, lawmakers would have to find room for a fourth congressional district. That could be more bad news for Democrats, as lawmakers would find it tempting to split Salt Lake County in two and combine each end with rural, Republican communities.
On the state level, the committee will have to redraw legislative boundaries. A slight population shift may cause Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County to each lose two seats in the state's House of Representatives, which will lead to gains in Southern Utah. Again, the new boundaries could have a tremendous impact on the future makeup of the Legislature.
In a state where one party dominates, redistricting can be a brutal exercise. It is the one instance in which victors get to reap political spoils with impunity. But the more impunity that is involved, the less trust the public has in its government.
Odd boundaries that isolate neighborhoods or wind their way serpentlike through several communities betray the very purpose of a democratic republic. They rob people of their voice in government and stoke the flames of cynicism.
Ideally, the state should turn the redistricting task over to a nonpartisan committee. Realistically, that isn't going to happen. The best Utahns can hope for is that the process, while surely bound to be political, does not become absurd.