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SALT LAKE CITY — When Victoria and Malcolm Reid moved to Utah from Minnesota six years ago, the couple settled in Millcreek, in part because of the area's history of closely contested elections and a variety of political opinions.
Victoria Reid is a Republican and Malcolm Reid a Democrat, so living in what was then the 4th Congressional District — which changed party hands in five straight election cycles — made them each feel they had a significant voice in who represented them in Congress.
That changed in 2021 after the Utah Legislature adopted new congressional maps that gave Republicans significant majorities in all four districts. The new maps were drawn after lawmakers watered down a 2018 citizen initiative that created an independent commission to advise on redrawing boundaries.
The Reids were two of the plaintiffs who sued the Legislature in 2022, accusing lawmakers of enacting an "extreme partisan gerrymander." On Thursday, the pair celebrated at the Capitol with scores of others after the Utah Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling saying the Legislature had overstepped its authority in stripping down Proposition 4.
"Today's Supreme Court decision is a massive victory," Victoria Reid said during a press conference with League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government, two other plaintiffs on the case. "It was a unanimous decision and a strong decision. They ruled that citizens of our state have the right to reform our government through the initiative process."
"And as a plaintiff," she added, "I have to tell you, I am thrilled and elated."
Her husband was likewise thrilled with the ruling, saying that "good governance means that all Utahns should be fairly represented."
"The Utah Constitution declares that all political power is inherent in the people," he said. "Today's Supreme Court ruling affirms that constitutional principle, that Utah citizens through the initiative process have the right to alter or reform their government."
Thursday's ruling remands several of the key questions in the lawsuit back to a lower court for further consideration, but Justice Paige Petersen was clear in her unanimous opinion that the Alter or Reform Clause of the Utah Constitution "demonstrates that the people's exercise of their right to reform the government through an initiative is constitutionally protected from government infringement, including legislative amendment or repeal that impairs the intended reform."
Top Republican lawmakers — including those who helped craft the bill paring down Proposition 4 — recoiled, calling it "one of the worse outcomes we've ever seen" from the high court. Controlled by a Republican supermajority, the state Legislature has not hesitated to try to influence court rulings in the past, and House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, told KSL.com lawmakers are already considering a constitutional amendment or other legislation to undo the ruling.
After the state's near-total abortion law was put on hold in 2022 by the courts, lawmakers passed a resolution to try to retroactively remove the justification the judge had relied on in issuing the preliminary injunction. The Legislature repealed portions of an abortion clinic ban that was impacted by the same lawsuit earlier this year, in hopes that it would expedite a decision in that case.
Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said Thursday they disagree with the court's ruling and accused the court of "creating chaos and striking at the very heart of our republic."
"This ruling will have profound and lasting ripple consequences that could negatively impact the state's future," they said in a joint statement. "It mirrors how states like California are governed — by big money and outside interest groups that run initiatives to alter the government and push their own agendas."
David Reymann, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the ruling recognizes a "fundamental right" Utahns have to reform their government through voter-led initiatives, requiring the government to overcome the "highest level of scrutiny known to the law" in order to significantly alter them.
"What the Supreme Court did today was establish a new framework in Utah that doesn't just apply to citizen initiatives about gerrymandering, but any democracy-furthering government reform initiative," he said. "It is a watershed moment, and I couldn't be prouder of what the court has done and the work that they put in in this case. I think it will benefit the citizens of this state for decades to come."
Reymann said the district court will now be tasked with ruling on several of the individual claims in the lawsuit, and while he said it's impossible to predict how a judge might rule, he feels "very confident given the framework that the Supreme Court has laid out."
He said he wouldn't be surprised if lawmakers tried to make it harder to pass initiatives or used other tactics to try to sidestep the ruling but said the court's reliance on the Constitution will make any efforts more difficult. Reymann said it curbs what lawmakers considered an "unfettered power" to overturn initiatives.
He said the endgame for the plaintiffs is to subject the current congressional maps to neutral standards outlined in Proposition 4, which could toss the current congressional map. Any ruling in that regard could also impact the political boundaries for state House and Senate districts, which have also been drawn to favor Republicans in many districts.
Several other politicians and advocates weighed in on the decision Thursday.
"We will continue to work tirelessly for the rights of citizens to choose their politicians," said Laura Lewis Eyi, a communications specialist with Mormon Women for Ethical Government. "Today's Utah Supreme Court ruling affirms the right, and we look forward to the future with hope."
"Today's decision means that Utah citizens have regained their voice in government," stated Ladd Johnson, chairman of the United Utah Party.
Dan Vicuña, director of redistricting and representation with Common Cause, a nonpartisan organization that filed an amicus brief in favor of the plaintiffs, celebrated the ruling as a "huge win for democracy."
"These new maps will put an end to partisan gerrymandering, which has led to extreme legislation and voter disenfranchisement," said Gabi Finlayson, a senior partner at Elevate Strategies, a Utah-based consulting firm.
Brian King, a Democratic state lawmaker from Salt Lake City and the party's gubernatorial nominee, said he was "thrilled" by the ruling, which he said "upholds the principles laid out in our state constitution: that all political power resides inherently in the people."
Katie Wright, executive director of Better Boundaries, the organization behind Proposition 4 in 2018, declared Thursday a "historic day for the people of Utah," and thanked the thousands of advocates, attorneys, volunteers and citizens who helped.
"You made this possible," she said. "It took all of us and I'm exceedingly grateful to your commitment to democracy."
