Here’s whom the Legislature picked to draw Utah’s new congressional maps

With a week left to come up with a new congressional map, legislative leaders have appointed ten lawmakers to a committee assigned the task of redrawing the boundaries.

The job will be led by Candice Pierucci, R-Riverton, from the House and Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, from the Senate. Sandall co-chaired the committee in 2021 that drew the maps that were voided last month by a state judge.

After a Utah Supreme Court ruling last year that the Legislature should not have been allowed to repeal 2018’s Proposition 4 — better known as the Better Boundaries initiative — the voter-approved initiative was reinstated as law.

Judge Dianna Gibson ruled last month that, with the initiative’s standards back in place, the existing congressional maps could not be used in the 2026 election because they do not meet Proposition 4’s requirements and need to be redrawn.

The Legislature has until September 25 to produce a draft of a new map and to provide the public 10 days to comment on it before it would need to be voted on in a special legislative session and submitted to the court. Gibson would then either approve the map if it complies with Proposition 4, or choose a map submitted by the plaintiffs in the case if the lawmakers’ map does not.

The final maps need to be in place by Nov. 10 in order to give county clerks enough time to prepare for the 2026 midterm elections.

Attorneys for the Legislature still contend Gibson’s ruling was wrong and may appeal the decision to the Utah Supreme Court. On Monday, the justices rejected the lawmakers’ appeal of Gibson’s timeline for redrawing the boundaries.

The other senators on the commission include Sens. Lincoln Fillmore, Don Ipson and Mike McKell for the Republicans and Sen. Luz Escamilla as the only Democrat.

The House contingent consists of Reps. Walt Brooks, Stephanie Gricius and Calvin Roberts for the Republicans and Rep. Doug Owens as the sole Democrat.

Pierucci, Fillmore, Ipson and McKell were members of the 2021 redistricting committee, as well.

Under Proposition 4, the committee has to produce a map with contiguous and compact districts that avoids splitting cities and counties as much as possible. It needs to keep communities of interest together and is not permitted to consider partisan voting data.

The Legislature on Wednesday posted a website — https://redistricting.utah.gov/2025-legislative-redistricting/ — where materials and upcoming meetings will be posted. No public meetings have been scheduled.

The committee will only be redrawing maps for Utah’s four U.S. House seats, since the lawsuit contesting the previous boundaries did not challenge the state legislative or school board districts.