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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.

U.S. Census and prisons — Rural Georgia coverage

by Dana Ford The UnionRecorder Milledgeville GA May 20 2006, June 5, 2006

The U.S. Census does not count prisoners in their counties of residence. It counts them where the jails and prisons are located. For counties like Baldwin, the way prisoners are counted makes a difference.

According to the 2000 census, Baldwin County has a population of 44,700. Once you adjust for the prison population, however, the county has 39,760 residents. Eleven percent of the population Baldwin County reports are people in jails or prisons, which practically speaking, means 11 percent of the Baldwin County population can not vote.

Low voter turnout and registration rates in Baldwin County can be understood, in part, when it is understood that nearly 11 percent of the population are incarcerated, and therefore, denied the right to vote.

As of May 2006, the Baldwin County Board of Registrars reported that the county has 18,005 registered, active voters. Combined with the 2000 population data for Baldwin, just about 40 percent of residents vote. However, if the percentage is calculated with the county population minus the number of people in jails or prisons, 45 percent of Baldwin residents are active voters.

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