PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 26, 2020
Salt Lake City, UT – Today, lawmakers and Better Boundaries came to a compromise on the Prop 4 replacement bill. Chase Thomas, executive director of Alliance for a Better Utah, issued the following statement:
“A majority of Utahns passed Proposition 4 to prevent gerrymandering in our state. With this compromise, the Legislature is gutting the majority of Prop 4 and ridding itself of every provision that would have brought transparency to the process and held them accountable for the maps they draw.
“In the place of Prop 4, we are left with lawmakers telling us to trust that they’ll respectfully listen to the commission and adopt fair maps. Over the past few years, the Legislature has given us no reason to trust their intentions and we shouldn’t begin to trust them now. They’ve exempted themselves from having to follow fair redistricting standards written into law. They’ve removed a requirement to explain to the public why they’re changing the commission’s maps. They’ve even changed the membership of the commission to give GOP leaders more power over who will recommend maps to the Legislature.
“The Legislature has repeatedly shown it is not interested in upholding the will of Utah voters. Here, once again, the explanations ring hollow and voters should recognize this for the power grab it is. We strongly oppose this compromise and hope Utahns will too.”
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Alliance for a Better Utah is a nonprofit that holds politicians accountable and advocates for progressive policies that make Utah an even better place. The organization improves the lives of all Utahns through advocacy, transparency, and accountability in Utah politics, policy, and government. More information at www.betterutah.org.