SALT LAKE CITY -- Embattled state Rep. Craig Frank formally resigned from the Legislature on Friday, ending any possibility he could force lawmakers to vote on whether to seat him.
The Cedar Hills Republican resigned about two weeks after learning he doesn't reside in the district he represents, which is required by state law.
House leaders and legislative attorneys had said that disqualified him from serving, although he had disputed their assessment.
Frank was re-elected for a fifth term as the representative for House District 57 in November. Utah County maps used for voting since 2001 show he lives in that district.
But state election maps draw the boundaries differently, putting Frank and about 2,500 other people in a neighboring district.
Frank learned about the discrepancy when he typed his address into a legislative website that helps residents find their elected leaders.
Frank had contended the discrepancy and the certification of his election by state elections officials meant he is the district's legal representative.
But he found little to no support for that notion from his Republican colleagues who control the Legislature, resulting in his foregoing a plan to force a vote on the Legislature's opening day Monday.
Instead, Frank hopes lawmakers will redraw his district's boundary to include him. That would allow him to run for his seat when the Utah County Republican Party meets Jan. 29 to choose his replacement. Republican delegates would choose the new representative.
"My resignation will allow the Legislature to move forward, unencumbered, to correct errors in state statute that currently allows inconsistencies in a system that should be without complication," Frank said in a statement Friday shortly after tendering his resignation to House leaders.
In his resignation letter, Frank says he resigned "with deep regret and humility."
"I appeal to the people's representatives to swiftly re-enfranchise the 2,550 citizens that live in Cedar Hills currently without a voice," his letter states.
According to state election maps, Frank and his neighbors are represented by Rep. John Dougall, R-American Fork.
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