It was a photo finish, but voters in deep-red Utah did pass the initiative to create an independent process for redistricting.
Took a while, though. In fact, the Thanksgiving turkeys were already thawing when official results confirmed that the measure had eked out a win —by a single percentage point.
The reform sets up a seven-member commission to draw a new map after the 2020 census, subject to approval in the state Legislature.
Across the country in blue Maryland, which hasn’t gone for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan created a commission to implement a court-ordered redraw of the 6th District, a district that is gerrymandered to, well, Pennsylvanian proportions (with opposite results).
Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh, a Democrat, is fighting the court order with an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. It's unclear whether Hogan's commission will even end up doing anything.
Once again, voting-district reform asserts itself as an issue without party affiliation.
