Washington, D.C. – Today, Eric H. Holder, Jr., 82nd Attorney General of the United States and Chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, released the below statement following the Utah State Legislature’s decision to ignore map proposals from the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission and pass their own gerrymandered congressional map instead:

“Utahns know exactly what is at stake for their communities if gerrymandered maps are allowed to exist for another decade. That is why Utah voters took action in 2018 and passed a ballot measure that created an independent redistricting commission charged with executing a transparent redistricting process designed to produce fair maps. But Republican legislators immediately began to undermine this voter-approved commission and protect their ability to draw maps for their own political gain. 

“Today, we see the culmination of this effort with Republicans choosing to pass their own politically-motivated, gerrymandered maps rather than the nonpartisan maps created by the independent commission. Not only have they completely disregarded the hard work done by a citizen-supported commission, these politicians have ignored the will of the people and decided instead to protect Republican political careers. 

“An overwhelming number of Utah voters urged the legislature to pass any one of the commission-drawn maps, which were the product of a transparent process that prioritized fairness and competitiveness. Instead of listening to the public, Republican legislators hypocritically chose maps that negatively impact the state’s urban communities in order to maintain their political power.”

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