Dear Karen Humes,
 
I am submitting this comment in response to the Census Bureau’s federal register notice regarding the Residence Rule and Residence Situations, 80 FR 28950 (May 20, 2015). I urge you to count incarcerated people at their home address, rather than at the particular facility where they happen to be located on Census day.
 
By designating a prison cell as a residence in the 2010 Census, the Census Bureau concentrated a population that is disproportionately male, urban, and African-American or Latino into just 5,393 Census blocks that are located far from the actual homes of incarcerated people. When this data is used for redistricting, prisons inflate the political power of those people who live near them, and take away the ability of people in the incarcerated peoples’ home neighborhoods to fully participate in our democracy. This disturbs me hugely as a citizen.
 
Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the Residence Rule and Residence Situations as the Bureau strives to count everyone in the right place in keeping with changes in society and population realities. Because I believe in a population count that accurately represents communities, I urge you to count incarcerated people as residents of their home address.

Andrea Balzano
Washington DC