MWEG Official Response to Fair Districting in Utah

Today, the people of Utah are getting what we voted for seven years ago — a fair map! Utah is a special place. At a time when politicians are rushing to gerrymander their states for political advantage all over the country, a cross-partisan group of Utah citizens — Republicans, Democrats, independents — is finally seeing the fruits of their persistence and years-long commitment to do the opposite. According to our constitution, the people have a right to alter and reform their government, and today, our congressional map reflects that right!

It is a very good day, indeed! This effort marks the culmination of efforts by countless citizens, and today, we see that when people come together across party and ideological lines, we can exercise great political power — not partisan power to control or win at all costs, but principled power that values the opinions of our neighbors and desires systems and processes that encourage healthy disagreement and debate. Such principled power is the pathway to representation.

When we the people are represented fairly, we have an increased sense of agency and greater self-efficacy. We are more likely to be actively involved in the public sphere, to exercise healthy patterns of civic engagement, and to build relationships with our elected officials. And our elected officials are more likely to engage with and listen to our voices. It is a virtuous cycle, and let it begin today!

In the coming hours and days, there will be many who will try to frame this victory through the lens of partisanship. Some will co-opt this as a win for their party, and others will see this as a loss and use it as a rallying cry for theirs. Let us be clear about what this case has always been about for MWEG: MWEG stands firmly opposed to gerrymandering, no matter which party initiates or benefits from it. Our organization includes a politically diverse set of women who live all across the state. Once we determined that the group would become a plaintiff, we needed to be able to look our fellow Utahns in the eye, no matter their political affiliations or ideologies, and say we did everything we could to support their constitutional rights. Our persistence was born out of love of the people, this state, and our country. And at every step of the way, we tried to engage in a way that would build unity and support peace.

Because gerrymandering breaks things, we all now have some more fixing to do. Let us reach out to our neighbors, our elected representatives, and our friends and family and do some mending. Let’s seek to heal wounds, to reconcile with those who have different political points of view, and to pledge to work together to solve problems. This is the work of collaborative democratic governing. It is how our nation was built, in spite of great differences. Partisanship tears apart our civic fabric  — but we have the power within us to do the hard work of repair. As an organization of peacemakers, we are committed to doing exactly that.