There once was a giant sandbox where everyone could play together. It had dump trucks, buckets and shovels, sandcastle molds and one corner filled with cigarette butts from the high school teens. 

Big Brother (BB) controlled the sandbox. He carried a clipboard and whistle, and discouraged others from playing. Although it belonged to the entire community, BB would chase people away, saying, “That’s just the rules,” which he had made himself, of course.

But Little Brother (LB) wanted to play. He tried to convince BB to give him just a small part of the sandbox to build sculptures with his friends. “What about this spot here?” he asked.

BB clutched his clipboard to his chest and gasped. “That’s a very important place. That’s my transportation corridor. You can’t have it.”

Every spot LB suggested, BB drew a new line in the sand and explained why each area just wasn’t feasible. That spot held BB’s main economic area, and another spot was an important waterway that couldn’t be changed. Soon, all that was left was the ashtray corner, but BB wanted control over that, too.

LB went to find Mom (who represents voters, the judiciary and common sense). She explained to BB that the sandbox belonged to everyone and LB should have his share. 

BB was furious and started throwing sand at Mom, calling her a bully. He said, “You are destroying the integrity of the sandbox!” He then spent the rest of the summer planning to steal back LB’s share.

Instead of a sandbox, we’re dealing with voting maps. Gerrymandering has shaped Utah’s leadership for decades, especially in creating congressional districts that look more like a sliced pizza than an equally divided constituency. 

We can’t bury our heads in the sand and expect the majority leadership in our state to treat us fairly. In 2018, Utah voters tried to redraw the sandbox lines and approved a ballot initiative that would create an independent redistricting committee to create voting maps that would avoid gerrymandering. 

But Gov. Cox signed a map into law that split Salt Lake County into four districts that could easily be controlled by Republicans. The map completely ignored the recommendations of the committee, which would give Democrats the possibility of winning a Congressional seat. 

Utah’s League of Women Voters filed a lawsuit, claiming the maps were a bunch of %@$#. They won that case in 2024 when the Utah Supreme Court ruled that legislators could not override the voice of the people. But the majority leadership has been fighting for its maps, and sand toys, ever since, trying to overturn the Court’s decision.

Common Ground: There’s an effort across the country to redistrict states through gerrymandering. Not just in Utah, but in Texas, California, Florida and New York. Some of those states favor Democrats while others favor Republicans. 

But here’s the thing: Gerrymandering should be illegal in every state because it skews voters’ rights and stacks the deck for the majority party.

In Utah, around 52% of voters are registered Republicans, which leaves nearly half the state without representation on the federal level. We’re told that every vote counts, but that’s not the case in gerrymandered states. Many Utahns feel voiceless and frustrated with leadership. We feel like we’re not heard and our issues don’t matter. 

Utah’s majority leaders get to draw the voting maps, create the rules, decide which demographics are important and choose who gets representation. Gerrymandering eliminates voices and then ignores voters when they speak up. That doesn’t sound like justice; that sounds like a power grab, no matter the party.