Resolution Calling for the Constitutional Remedy in a Constitutional Crisis: The Oath of Office
Sponsored by Wendy Hart
Adopted by the State Central Committee on January 10, 2026
WHEREAS, the Utah Republican Party affirms the principles of representative government, the separation of powers, and the constitutional boundaries that safeguard the proper roles of each branch of government; and
WHEREAS, the Utah Constitution (Art. IX, §1) and the United States Constitution (Art. I, §4) explicitly grant the authority to draw congressional districts to the elected Legislature of the State of Utah; and
WHEREAS, the recent judicial ruling concerning Proposition 4 and congressional redistricting constitutes a clear violation of those constitutional mandates by disregarding the Legislature’s exclusive authority to draw maps; and
WHEREAS, the court further exceeded its proper role by adopting a map submitted by plaintiffs, lacking any legal, constitutional, or voter-derived authority and inconsistent with the framework of Proposition 4 itself; and
WHEREAS, when one branch of government abandons its constitutional limits, the other branches have both a moral and constitutional duty to restore balance and justice; and
WHEREAS, Governor Spencer Cox has affirmed that the state constitution assigns redistricting authority solely to the Legislature; and
WHEREAS, Article I, Section 2 of the Utah Constitution grants the people of Utah the right to reform their government only through established constitutional processes and does not empower unelected NGOs, special interests, or the judiciary to impose congressional maps; and
WHEREAS, the people of Utah deserve congressional districts drawn by their elected representatives, not by litigation or outside influence; and
WHEREAS, the Lieutenant Governor, in her role as Utah’s chief elections officer, is bound by oath to uphold the Utah Constitution and to preserve the proper separation of powers;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Utah Republican Party State Central Committee calls on Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson to uphold the constitutional authority of the Legislature in matters of redistricting; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the State Central Committee urges the Lieutenant Governor to reject the unauthorized, court-imposed map and to certify and administer elections using the congressional map duly enacted by the Utah Legislature; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Utah Republican Party stands firmly for representative government, for constitutional limits on judicial power, and for the right of Utah’s elected lawmakers—not unelected outside entities or the courts—to determine congressional district boundaries; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Utah Republican Party calls upon all elected officials and public servants to defend the constitutional separation of powers and to protect Utah’s redistricting process from improper outside interference.
Sponsor: Wendy Hart
Co-sponsors: Marilyn Momeny, Scott Schulze, Cristy Henshaw, Mike Carpenter, Keri Guinn, Lyndon Brittner