The following is a letter which I sent to my Utah state legislature representatives, asking them to accept the maps presented by the UIRC and thus take a leap forward in eliminating gerrymandering in the state. I figured I’d post it here too. For more information, please see Better Boundaries and UIRC.

Dear [Senator/Representative],

My name is Brett Loertscher, and I am your constituent. I am writing to urge you to adopt the maps presented by the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission. I am one of the more than 500,000 voters who affirmed their support for Proposition 4 in 2018. I voted to establish the Commission because I want to ensure that my voice and the voices of my family, my neighbors, and even my opponents are heard. I believe that an independent, transparent map-drawing process is critical to maintaining the integrity of our government.

I am a voter independent of any political party. Because of gerrymandering, I have long felt that my voice is ignored in both state and federal elections. By minimizing the splitting of cities, counties, and communities of interest, and by acting independent of a political agenda, I trust that the Commission’s maps will help ensure that every person’s vote will indeed matter.

At stake is more than the outcome of a single election, or even a decade’s worth of elections. You know as well as I do that people’s faith in the government is fading fast. If the Utah legislature fails to honor the will of Utahns by adopting the Commission’s maps, the deterioration of trust will only accelerate. Please, please do not jeopardize the integrity of our representative democracy by perpetuating the pernicious practice of gerrymandering. I implore you to vote to adopt the maps presented by the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission.

Sincerely,

Brett Loertscher