Montana has enacted legislation to end prison gerrymandering. It is among the growing list of states that count incarcerated people at home for redistricting purposes.
Montana
- Sections
- Legislation
- Organizations in Montana
- Press coverage
- Testimony
- More information
- 2000-era Districts
The U.S. Census Bureau counts incarcerated people where they are confined not where they are from. Using these counts to draw state and local legislative districts enhances the weight of a vote cast by people who live near prisons at the expense of everyone else in the state or county.
Legislation
SB 77, sponsored by Senator Shane Morigeau, was signed into law on April 25,2023.
Leaders in Montana
It’s impossible to include everyone who is working toward fair districting in Montana, but if you are looking to get involved, these are some of the people and organizations you might want to contact first:
- Ta'jin Perez Western Native Voice
- Chloe Cotton, Native American Rights Fund (NARF)
Press coverage
- Prisons shouldn't be called homes, especially in the Census, Op-ed in The Hill, by Sen. Shane Morigeau (D) and Sen. Jason Small (R), August 29, 2023
- Missoulian editorial: Count Montana's inmates with their home communities, July 18, 2021
- ICYMI: Prison gerrymandering could impact Indian Country voters, by Arren Kimbel-Sannit, Daily Montanan, June 16, 2021
- Montana lawmakers to look at how prisons affect legislative districts, by Ashley Nerbovig, Missoulian, December 27, 2020
Select Testimony
- Aleks Kajstura & Ginger Jackson-Gleich, Legal Director & Policy Counsel, Prison Policy Initiative, 07/08/2021
- Campaign Legal Center, 07/09/2021
- Aleks Kajstura & Ginger Jackson-Gleich, Legal Director & Policy Counsel, Prison Policy Initiative, 05/25/2021
- Do you have copies of other submitted testimonies? Contact us.
More information
- Legislation: including model legislation, current bills, and archive of past legislative efforts
- Pathfinder: a guide to resources on prison gerrymandering
- Effects of prison-based gerrymandering in Montana at the state and local levels of government: 50 State Guide - Montana.
Materials about 2000 Census and redistricting cycle
A collection of historical reports, fact sheets, and media coverage of the prison gerrymandering after the 2000 Census.
Recommended Reading:
About the Prison Policy Initiative
Learn more about the organization behind the Prison Gerrymandering Project.
The Racial Geography of Mass Incarceration
The transfer of Black and Latino incarcerated people to communities very different than their own is a nationwide problem.
Do prisons draw in Census money for their host communities? No.
We explain that prison gerrymandering is bad for democracy but federal & state aid are not impacted.
Prison-based Gerrymandering in Anamosa, Iowa
How a prison helped one man get elected with just two votes.