Site Network: Prison Policy Initiative | Prisoners of the Census

The Census' prisoner miscount distorts democracy

The Census Bureau counts prisoners as if they lived voluntarily in the communities where they are incarcerated. And though most states bar prisoners from voting, the inaccurate census figures allow state lawmakers to pad district populations when drawing legislative maps. This creates prison districts with disproportionate voting power and drains political influence from the urban districts where most prisoners live.

Most of New York State’s prison cells are in Republican Assembly Districts

by Peter Wagner, September 20, 2004

New York State is a majority Democratic state, but the politics — like the prisons and prisoners — are far from evenly distributed throughout the state. The Republican party controls only 1 in 3 New York State Assembly Districts, mostly in the state’s sparsely populated upstate region.

While the majority of the state’s prisoners come from heavily Democratic New York City, they are disproportionately incarcerated in Republican Assembly Districts. As of January 2003, 69% of the state’s prison cells are in Assembly Districts represented by Republicans.

map showing that 69% of NY's prison cells are in Republican Assembly districts

Comments are closed.

The Prison Policy Initiative relies entirely on private funds and we need your support.
Can you make a tax-deductible contribution today?  Yes  No