SALT LAKE CITY — In 2018, Utah voters narrowly passed a proposition creating an independent redistricting commission that will recommend redistricting maps to the Utah State Legislature.
The propositions, however, are only suggestions — and according to Utah's Constitution, the state Legislature draws the final boundaries. If legislators wanted to, they could ignore the redistricting commission's recommendations altogether.
So, what is the role of the redistricting commission, and will the Utah Legislature use its recommendations? What incentives does the Legislature have to take the commission's maps seriously?
The commission's limits
"What we did with that referendum is we essentially created this advisory committee, but it really is advisory," said Matthew Burbank, a political science professor at the University of Utah. "Anything that they do does not have the force of law."