It’s been quite the dance we’ve all been watching over the last seven years … and I doubt there is any end in sight.

Here’s a quick recap of the redistricting timeline:

1. Proposition 4 was placed on the ballot in 2018 to create the “‘Utah Independent Redistricting Commission,’ with responsibility to recommend redistricting plans to the Legislature” and redistrict based on certain subjective criteria like “minimize the division of counties, cities, and towns” and “create districts that are geographically compact and in one unbroken piece.” The measure barely passed by a margin of less than 7,000 votes (512,281-505,274).
2. The Utah state legislature passed SB 200 in 2020, basically relegating the aforementioned commission to fully advisory status. It then used what it believes as its constitutional authority to establish its own redistricting maps in 2021.
3. A lawsuit was filed in 2022 questioning the legislature’s interpretation of the law. The ensuing rounds of decisions and appeals resulted in a district court judge, Dianna M. Gibson, deciding on a redistricting map to replace the one by the legislature that was declared unconstitutional.

I’m certainly no legal expert and have only a high-level understanding of the wrangling going on in the court system (which is still ongoing), but I don’t think you have to be a genius to boil this issue down to what is really at stake.

There are currently just over 2 million registered voters in Utah, according to vote.utah.gov. Of that number, half are registered as Republicans while just 14% are registered as Democrats. More than a quarter (29%) are unaffiliated and the other 7% are disbursed between smaller parties with the largest of those being Independent American (4.5%).

The main issue is Salt Lake County, which leans more liberal. In the 2024 presidential election, 53.7% (273,658 voters) voted for Democrat Kamala Harris, while 43.5% (221,555 voters) voted for Republican Donald Trump.

Is it any surprise, then, that Republicans want a redistricting map that has the Salt Lake County voting bloc dispersed with other more conservative areas, while the Democrats want to see it consolidated so they have a better chance of winning a congressional seat?

This isn’t rocket science.

Both sides have consistently tossed around the accusation of “gerrymandering,” which is merely a way to attempt to get what they want.

Here are some of the myths and realities that surround redistricting, both in Utah and across the country:

Myth No. 1: States can prevent “gerrymandering.”

Reality: All redistricting could be described as “gerrymandering” since those doing the redistricting are human beings who inevitably will draw the maps to follow their own views as far as what is “best.”

Was the Republican-led redistricting map from 2021 “gerrymandered”? Of course it was.

Is the map pushed by the lawsuit plaintiffs to Judge Gibson “gerrymandered”? Absolutely.

Both were blatant attempts to get a map in place that favor their position. It happens everywhere and will always be a reality because that’s how representative government works.

Myth No. 2: Stopping “gerrymandering” will prevent voters from being “disenfranchised.”

Reality: No matter what you do, there will always be voters who don’t get to be part of the majority.

There are — and have always been — Republicans in Salt Lake County, Democrats in Utah County and Libertarians in Weber County who don’t have enough votes to see their preferred candidates win elections.

That’s what elections are all about. Everyone does the best they can to evaluate the candidates and ideas, then votes accordingly. The one who gets the most votes wins, but that means there are a lot of voters who won’t win.

Myth No. 3: Districts should be drawn to follow city, county and geographical boundaries.

Reality: This is a common rallying cry for people who want things a certain way, but it doesn’t hold up to logical scrutiny. There is no reason that square-shaped districts are better than round-shaped districts or triangle-shaped districts or snake-shaped districts, other than to make them look pretty on a map.

Those who want to use county boundaries can’t ignore the fact that there aren’t enough districts in Utah for every county to have its own district, so therefore it’s impossible for that to be fair. Why should Salt Lake County get its own district when Grand County and Cache County don’t?

By law, districts need to have similar population numbers. Who gets to decide how those numbers are allocated is the challenge and you can bet that everyone is going to push for them to be segmented in the way that benefits them the most.

So here is one final reality: how congressional districts are drawn is a big deal and there is no way to make everyone happy.

If you look at where things are at right now in Utah, the Democrats are currently ecstatic. Gibson’s ruling in November that selected a map favorable to liberal views was a cause for celebration.

Of course, don’t be surprised if the ruling is overturned by the Utah Supreme Court in the coming weeks or, even more likely, that the original Proposition 4 measure is completely repealed by a new referendum in 2026.

To me, if the Utah Republican Party was smart, all it would do to promote the repeal campaign would be to constantly replay all the gleeful quotes from Democrats after the judge’s ruling and let the majority of conservative voters connect the dots about whether they really want such a measure to drastically benefit liberals. It seems unlikely to me that they would affirm the measure, particularly in our hyper-polarized world.

But I personally think there is a better way.

Here is my potential common-sense solution:

Codify into law that the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission and the Utah state legislature have to come to a consensus on a new redistricting map. Remove any guidelines on geographical (I don’t think the mountains, lakes or rivers get votes) or compacted districts. Just get smart people together and work to make it as fair as possible.

It shouldn’t be impossible, since the commission is appointed by representatives from the executive and legislative branches of government. Get them all in a room and hammer it out, making compromises until it’s the best they can come up with.

Is it a pipe dream in our current world? Maybe.

But I’d still like to think that fair-minded people can find ways to work together and move beyond the convoluted maneuvering that has made all this redistricting such a mess.