Analysis shows Utah electoral maps gave GOP a three-seat advantage in 2016

The Utah GOP won three more state legislative seats than they should have in 2016 because of partisan gerrymandering according to a new analysis.

The Associated Press reports that the way the legislative district maps were drawn in 2011 gave the Utah GOP an electoral advantage they didn't necessarily earn. On average, Republicans in Utah won 64% of the vote but captured 83% of the state House seats up for grabs.

The analysis is based on the "efficiency gap" formula developed by University of Chicago law professor Nick Stephanopoulos and Eric McGhee, a researcher at the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. Their model was cited recently by a federal appeals court that found Wisconsin's Assembly districts were intentionally gerrymandered in favor of Republicans. The formula compares the statewide average share of the vote that a party receives with the statewide percentage of seats the party won, taking into account that in politics, each percentage point share of statewide votes generally accounts for a 2 percentage point increase in seat share.

According to the formula, the Utah GOP also won one more Congressional seat than their vote totals would merit. Republicans captured 67% of the overall Congressional vote in 2016, but won all four House seats that year.