To Protect Gerrymanders, GOP Lawmakers Target Judges — and Voters
Republican legislators around the country have identified the biggest obstacles to their unprecedented mid-decade redistricting: the courts and the voters. So they’re responding by launching an all-out war on both.
They’ve met pro-democracy rulings with threats to impeach judges, pack the courts, and make judicial elections partisan. They’re also working to undermine the power of voters to have a voice in the redistricting process, by attacking voter-approved constitutional amendments and making it harder for voters to put amendments on the ballot.
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The GOP’s attacks are highlighting the importance of state courts as perhaps the last line of defense for protecting fair elections.
Perhaps nowhere is that clearer than in Utah. Last month, a Republican lawmaker in the state filed impeachment charges against Judge Dianna Gibson, after she struck down the state’s gerrymandered congressional map and called out lawmakers for defying a voter-approved constitutional amendment that requires fair election districts. Gibson ordered the state to adopt a new map that will likely give Democrats one of Utah’s four congressional seats.
State Rep. Matt MacPherson accused Gibson of “gross abuse of power, violating the separation of powers, and failing to uphold her oath of office to the Utah Constitution.”
While other Republican leaders in the Legislature haven’t talked about impeaching Gibson, who was appointed by a Republican, they did launch attacks on the judge. The head of the state GOP called her ruling “the arrogance of a King playing judge.” He described the ruling to enforce a voter-approved amendment as a “constitutional crisis” and a “direct threat to our constitutional order.”
The threat comes on the heels of Republicans in other states threatening to impeach justices who struck down unfair districts in recent years.
Republicans in Utah also took the opportunity to give themselves more power over the state’s chief justice. Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill that removes the high court’s power to choose its own chief. Instead, the governor will appoint a chief justice for an eight-year term, and the state Senate will have to approve the nominee.
Democracy advocates in Utah are expecting more attacks on the courts, as well as the voters’ right to amend the Constitution, in the next legislative session. In recent years, Republicans have proposed bills to exert radical control over judges. They’ve also pushed to end the state’s merit selection appointment system and choose judges in partisan elections.
In another attempt to manipulate the courts, Republican legislators in several states have pushed to adopt partisan judicial elections in the midst of court battles over gerrymandering. In two states, they succeeded. North Carolina and Ohio are the first states in 100 years to move from nonpartisan to partisan races. Following the 2020 census, the high courts in both states struck down gerrymandered districts, but the shift to partisan elections helped Republicans regain control of the courts. While the GOP has dominated appellate court elections in North Carolina, Justices Anita Earls and Allison Riggs — two former civil rights lawyers who defeated the legislature in gerrymandering cases — have successfully won partisan races.
As Kansas Republicans plan a special session to gerrymander congressional maps, voters are preparing to decide the future of the state’s judiciary. Republican lawmakers added an amendment to the August 2026 primary ballot that would end the state’s merit selection system in favor of partisan elections for judges. A columnist with the Wichita Eagle warned of the consequences: “Instead of being selected on merit, big business interests will be able to spend unlimited money to buy a Supreme Court that will side with corporations over ordinary citizens.”
In Montana, as Republican legislators fight for partisan judicial elections, two amendment initiatives have been filed to keep the elections nonpartisan. Republicans in the state have tried to undermine this effort, but in a win for the pro-democracy movement, the Montana Supreme Court ruled that state Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s (R) changes to the ballot initiative would “mislead voters and prevent them from casting an intelligent and informed ballot.”
Meanwhile in Missouri, Republicans are actively attacking direct democracy. Earlier this year, GOP lawmakers in the state passed a gerrymandered map at the request of Trump. In response, the organization People Not Politicians is collecting signatures to hold a referendum on the map. This is perfectly legal under the state constitution, however, State Attorney General Catherine Holloway (R) stepped in to challenge the referendum organizers, arguing that they cannot use state law to deprive the legislature of its authority to conduct redistricting.
A new attack on the courts has also sprung up in Indiana. State Republicans added language to their new gerrymander that explicitly tries to prevent the courts from blocking the map.
GOP legislators are targeting anyone standing in the way of their gerrymandering schemes. These brazen power grabs by Republican lawmakers across America illustrate the importance of state courts, which are increasingly coming under attack. Nearly every state constitution protects the right to vote and emphasizes the importance of voters — not politicians who manipulate election districts — deciding who governs. Voters can help stop gerrymandering by getting involved with judicial elections or appointments and by fighting Republican power grabs.
Billy Corriher is the state courts manager for People’s Parity Project and a longtime advocate for fair courts and progressive judges. As a Democracy Docket contributor, Billy writes about voting and election state court cases in North Carolina and across the country.