Several politicians voluntarily dismissed their federal lawsuit that sought to prevent Utah’s new congressional map from taking effect for this year’s midterm elections.
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Republican Reps. Burgess Owens and Celeste Maloy joined with 11 local leaders to sue in February in what was a last ditch effort to block the new court-ordered map from taking effect. The plaintiffs voluntarily filed to have the case dismissed on Tuesday, and U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby ordered the case dismissed without prejudice and without awarding fees or expenses to either party the following day.
The voluntary dismissal was filed without explanation in the US. District Court for the District of Utah. While it marks the official closure of the case, it changes little because a three-judge panel declined to grant a preliminary injunction to pause the implementation of the new maps in February.
Given that political nominating conventions were quickly approaching in April, two of those judges cited what is known as the Purcell principle, which states that “federal courts ordinarily should not alter state election rules in the period close to an election.”
“(T)he possibility of voter confusion is a considerable risk were the panel to enjoin the current election map,” they wrote. “Here, an active primary is ongoing, and the election has drawn too close for the court to get involved.”
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Owens’ and Maloy’s lawsuit was prompted by a decision by Utah 3rd District Judge Dianna Gibson in November 2025. Gibson adopted a remedial congressional map after she found state lawmakers did not follow the standards of Utah’s anti-gerrymandering initiative known as Proposition 4.
The new map created a Democratic-leaning district in northern Salt Lake County, replacing a map that favored Republicans in each of the state’s four congressional districts. Owens announced he would not seek reelection in March, after it became clear the new map would be in place this cycle, allowing the other incumbents — Maloy and GOP Reps. Blake Moore and Mike Kennedy — to run in the three conservative districts.
Litigation over Proposition 4 and Utah’s congressional maps has been ongoing for years and will continue even with this case resolved. The Utah Legislature is still looking to overturn a 2024 state Supreme Court ruling that found it overstepped its authority when it altered Proposition 4 several years earlier.
Lawmakers have also tried to propose a constitutional amendment to voters that, if approved, would give them authority to change initiatives approved by voters and adopt congressional maps without needing to follow the neutral standards set by Proposition 4. They were unsuccessful in putting the question on the 2024 ballot, and just this week top GOP leaders backed away from plans to try again this year, saying they want to let the legal cases play out first.
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