Sutherland/Y2 survey: Utah voters think elected officials, not judges, should choose congressional maps

SALT LAKE CITY (December 3, 2025) – Today, Sutherland Institute released results from a Y² Analytics public opinion poll it commissioned on redistricting in Utah. Y² surveyed a random sample of 623 registered Utah voters in October, with a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points.

Highlights from the survey:

• By a 63-point margin, Utah voters believe that the policymakers they elect should be making redistricting decisions over judges. A full 71% of Utah voters say that an elected body or elected official at the state or county levels ought to have primary responsibility to decide congressional maps, compared to 8% who say judges should be primarily responsible.
• Net support for elected policymakers over judges in redistricting is 73 points among Republican voters (76% for elected officials compared to 3% for judges) and 52 points among Democrat voters (69% for elected officials compared to 17% for judges).
• Net support for elected officials over judges in redistricting is similar for men (63 points) and women (62 points).
• 60% of Utah voters believe that the state Legislature should have a role in drawing district maps.
• Of voters who believe the legislature should have a role, 45% believe legislators should choose from maps approved by a commission, while 40% believe legislators should set district boundaries with an advisory commission to assist.
• With Proposition 4 having generated lawsuits that place judges in the primary decision-making role in redistricting, the Sutherland Institute/Y² Analytics survey suggests that voters may be open to repealing Proposition 4 if the subsequent outcome included an advisory commission to the Legislature on redistricting that did not empower lawsuits that led judges to decide congressional maps.

The findings and recommendations are highlighted in Sutherland’s newest Impact Analysis, available here: