Prison Populations a Big Issue for Census

by Peter Wagner, March 9, 2010 Link

The Census Project Blog has posted my guest blog post: Prison Populations a Big Issue for Census. Check it out.

Census empowers, does not dictate data use

by Aleks Kajstura, March 8, 2010 Link

Recent media coverage makes it clear that there is a misconception about basic principles of our electoral system. Many people are claiming that the Census Bureau has changed some policy and is now allowing states to exclude certain populations in the redistricting process.

Actually, the Census Bureau has no authority over districting. The Census Bureau does provide data that states can use in their individual redistricting processes. States use this data because it is easily accessible and often the only or best data available. States were never required to use this data. (Next week I will blog about a court case that expressly prohibited using Census data where using the data would have lead to unequal districts.)

The Census Bureau recently announced that it will publish group quarters population data in May 2011 (prisons are one kind of group quarters). If they wish, the states can adjust their populations, taking into consideration the location and population of prisons, when redistricting. The Bureau is simply making an existing process easier. A few states have already required their counties to make this exact adjustment in their populations when redistricting, and many more counties made such adjustments on their own.

The Census Bureau was simply responding to a need that was already there. The Census Bureau has no “new policy” regarding populations used for redistricting; that choice is, and always has been, reserved by each state and local goverment.

Prison-based gerrymandering in Maryland

by Peter Wagner, March 8, 2010 Link

Olivia Cummings and I have finished Importing Constituents: Incarcerated People and Political Clout in Maryland, our district-by-district analysis of how crediting Baltimore City’s incarcerated residents to remote districts distorts democracy and dilutes the votes of all voters in all other districts.

We’ve also released two fact sheets:

• Ending prison-based gerrymandering would aid the African-American vote in Maryland [PDF] by Prison Policy Initiative
• States are Authorized to Adjust Census Data to End Prison-Based Gerrymandering, and Many Already Do [PDF] by Prison Policy Initiative and Demos

and created a new page for the Maryland campaign.

Census Bureau Director blogs: “So, How do You Handle Prisons?”

by Peter Wagner, March 2, 2010 Link

Census Bureau Director Robert Groves has a new blog post: So, How do You Handle Prisons? that addresses how the Bureau counts people in prison. He discusses the mechanics of the count, the controversy about where incarcerated people should be counted, and some of the logistical and conceptual challenges to fairly and accurately counting incarcerated people in the right spot.

Times Herald-Record asks: Who gets to count inmates?

by Peter Wagner, March 1, 2010 Link

Keith Goldberg writes about the effort to end prison-based gerrymandering in New York State in the Times Herald-Record (Orange County, NY). On Feb 19, the paper’s editorial board said that “a politician should be embarrassed to claim that people held in prisons should count as constituents” and called for the state to pass legislation to end the practice of padding legislative districts with prisons.

The editorial concluded with the pessimistic prediction that a lawsuit would be necessary to end prison-based gerrymandering, and today’s article takes on the legal and political arguments that are holding up reform. Read more »