Admittedly, this has been a rush job. Judge Robert Shelby upended San Juan County politics last December with his order to set up new electoral districts for the county commission and board of education.
Shelby insisted that San Juan couldn’t go another November without holding a legitimate election that gives Indian voters their due. The county’s two most important elected bodies were racially gerrymandered. It was obvious, even though it had gone on for decades.
It was a tall order for Utah’s largest county, where thousands live far from paved roads and drive miles to pick up their mail.