With more than 150,000 petition signatures validated by County Clerks from across Utah, the Better Boundaries initiative has met the requirements to be placed on the November 2018 general election ballot.
Members of the non-partisan committee behind Better Boundaries met with supporters on Wednesday, one day after the May 15th deadline for County Clerks to have completed the signature validation process.
“I’m a Republican, and I’m also a proud member of this committee,” said Better Boundaries co-chair Jeff Wright. “I believe that when we have a chance to make government better, we should. An independent redistricting commission is an idea Utah is ready for, I’m thrilled we get the chance to vote on it in November.”
Also in attendance Wednesday was Holladay Mayor Robert Dahle. Elected as an independent, Dahle supports Better Boundaries for the impact it has on smaller communities.
“My city of 30,000 residents is split between four State House districts, two State Senate districts and two Congressional districts,” said Mayor Dahle. “A typical State House district has about 30,000 people. We should have one, but instead four districts have a few neighborhoods from Holladay and a few from neighboring jurisdictions.”
With the signature validation process complete, the Office of the Lt. Governor will officially certify Better Boundaries as having met the requirements and place the initiative on the general election ballot in November.
The Better Boundaries initiative would create a non-partisan commission of experts, appointed jointly by the Governor and Legislature to draw legislative and congressional maps after the 2020 census. Those maps would be submitted to the Legislature for an up or down vote. The initiative includes standards for drawing maps and rules to ensure the commission is independent and non-partisan.
