Utah Legislature passes congressional districts over protest

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Republican-controlled Utah Legislature approved a new congressional district map Wednesday that further carves up Democratic-leaning Salt Lake County and largely ignores the work of an independent redistricting commission approved by voters. The new maps now go to Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, who indicated he will not veto them. The new district lines will determine where voters cast their ballots for the next decade and make the state’s lone swing district more reliably Republican, leading critics to call them gerrymandered. GOP lawmakers say the lines better reflect the state by including both rural and urban areas.