I believe the Founding Fathers — and Founding Mothers — would support Judge Diana Gibson’s ruling this week in a redistricting lawsuit against the Utah Legislature. Here are two reasons why.
No taxation without representation
First, the Founders objected to being “taxed without representation.”
I am one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. As a Salt Lake City resident, I essentially had no representation in Washington, since my community had been gerrymandered out of existence, politically speaking. The Utah Legislature diluted the voices of urban voters — who tend to favor non-Republican candidates — by “cracking” Salt Lake County into four pieces that sit within four Congressional districts.
In “Common Sense,” Thomas Paine argued that it was illogical for an island (Great Britain) to rule a continent (North America). Let’s apply the common-sense test to this situation.
In 2018, Utah voters passed Proposition 4, which established neutral criteria for redistricting, including a ban on partisan gerrymandering, and an independent advisory commission to draw up voting maps based on the 2020 census. Three years later, the Legislature repealed Prop 4 and drew its own maps, which were designed to give Republicans a monopoly on power, while ignoring the commission’s proposed maps.
When the Legislature carved up the state for partisan gain, I lived on the south side of Temple Square. Is it logical that I belonged to the same Congressional district as residents of St. George (300 miles to the south), while my co-plaintiff Wendy Martin, who lives on the east side of Temple Square, belonged to the same district as residents of Logan (80 miles to the north)?
This split of our community made it difficult for my neighbors and me to advocate to our Congressional representative on issues that impact our area. It also meant we had no hope of electing our preferred candidates to Congress.
I object to being taxed without representation for the same reasons John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington balked at paying taxes to King George III.
Utah’s redistricting ruling supports the rule of law
Second, the Founders believed passionately in the rule of law.
They understood that power breeds corruption and corruption breeds tyranny. That’s why they created a system, based on laws, in which three branches of government would hold each other in check — and all three would ultimately be accountable to the citizens.
It’s much easier for citizens to hold the legislative branch accountable when citizens define voting district boundaries. Currently, after each U.S. Census, legislators create voting maps in 33 states, while independent commissions draw up maps in nine states. Allowing legislators from the dominant party to choose their own voters creates an inherent conflict of interest — one that self-serving politicians will continue to exploit until citizens take that power away from them.
One of those politicians, Senator Mike Lee of Utah, wrote on August 25th, “In essence, the U.S. Constitution already designates a form of redistricting commission: state legislatures. There’s little justification for transferring that power to unelected and unaccountable individuals, such as those on independent commissions.”
No, Senator Lee. Elected officials are meant to be accountable to citizens, not the other way around. When a state legislature functions as a redistricting commission, elected officials become dangerously unaccountable.
In 2021, Utah legislators violated the state’s constitution, which grants voters “the right to alter or reform their government,” for the sole purpose of aggregating power — precisely the kind of scenario the Founders had in mind when they built a system of checks and balances.
When a politician thinks, “My aims are so noble that anything I do to maximize my own power is justified,” that politician has crossed a line, at least mentally, from democracy to authoritarianism. Democratic politician Beto O’Rourke crossed that line recently when he called on California Democrats to retaliate against Texas Republicans in a gerrymandering arms race. It’s time to stop the madness.
Politicians who subvert democracy to gain power will always be corrupted in the process. And if no one holds them accountable, it will be easier for someone else to undermine democracy in ways that are even more damaging. That’s why Judge Gibson’s ruling, which reinstates Prop 4 and requires a fair map for the 2026 election, is a victory not just for Utah voters, but also for our country’s democracy.