The months preceding next November's election could be met with a few changes and challenges now that Utah's chances of gaining a fourth representative are looking better.
Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in the state's lawsuit against the Census Bureau.
Depending on when the high court rules — and if it gives Utah a fourth House seat — the logistics of candidates running, party delegates picked, conventions held and primaries conducted could get messy.
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Utah's lead legal counsel in the lawsuit, Tom Lee, say they are sure the Supreme Court is aware of that. They are asking the court to expedite the hearing process and possibly hear the case in March or April, Shurtleff said at a news conference Tuesday at the State Capitol.
That means the possibility of the court ruling before the candidate filing deadline of March 18 is slim to none.
However, Utah attorneys and leaders, who were ecstatic on Tuesday after learning they would go to the top court in their fight for the seat, say that is the least of their worries.
"That certainly can be taken care of," Lee said.
The legislative redistricting committee included a provision for a special session to rework filing deadlines if necessary, and it is also possible the Legislature could pass some kind of back-up statute that would allow for new filings after March 18 during the regular session, Rep. Gerry Adair, R-Roy, said.
It's not just candidate filing deadlines that would have to be tweaked, however.
Republican and Democratic party caucuses, where delegates are chosen, are March 25, and the primary election is June 25. State party conventions are held in early May.
Despite some bugs, however, the four-seat plan, which had very little dissention from legislators, would be a simple solution to silencing critics of the three-seat plan, Sen. Mike Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, said.
Some candidates filing under the current three-seat configuration may choose to refile for another seat under the four-district map.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, is now in the 2nd District and plans to run in the newly drawn 2nd District under the three-seat plan. But late last year he said he would consider running in the new 4th District, if the high court gives it to Utah.
Former GOP Rep. Merrill Cook says he's seeking his old 2nd District seat again. But Cook, like Matheson, lives on the upper Avenues section of Salt Lake City and could run in the 1st, 2nd or even the new 4th District, which takes in much of the old 2nd District, depending on the high court's ruling.
And a four-seat plan could greatly alter the politics of south Salt Lake County and southern Utah. A few sitting legislators have expressed interest in one or another congressional district if the four-seat plan is ordered.
While there is really no southern Utah district created in either the three-seat or four-seat plan, the four-seat plan may provide a better opportunity for a southern Utah candidate to win than under the three-seat plan — especially with a strong Democratic candidate like Matheson running in the 2nd District, which will include eastern and southern Utah this year.
The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday morning that it would hear oral arguments of Utah's appeal of a November federal court ruling that rejected the state's case.
Utah's attorneys are attacking "imputation," a counting method that was used by census officials for about 0.2 percent of the population. When a household could not be reached after several attempts, census enumerators would estimate how many people lived in the home based on similar homes in the neighborhood.
Imputation benefited North Carolina by adding 32,457 residents to the state's population, while giving Utah only an additional 5,385. If those numbers end up being discarded, it would more than make up for the 857-person shortfall that gave the seat to North Carolina.
State leaders and attorneys are convinced the imputed numbers should be thrown out based on a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that requires a count of actual people and prohibits guessing or scientific adjustment.
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