by Peter Wagner, December 20, 2010
We’ve updated and reorganized our pages about the solutions to prison-based gerrymandering, including the legislation page with model, passed and proposed state and county legislation, and a technical memo about Using the Census Bureau’s Advanced Group Quarters Table.
by Aleks Kajstura, December 14, 2010
The New York State Senate explains the problems with prison-based gerrymandering in New York State, and what the State is doing about it this redistricting cycle.
Currently, the United States Bureau of the Census includes everyone housed in federal, state, and local correctional facilities in its count of the general population in the Census “block” (population unit) containing the prison facility. The state’s current reliance on the Census Bureau’s prison count data when drawing legislative districts could violate federal law in two ways: it dilutes minority voting strength in possible violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and it violates the one person, one vote principle of the 14th Amendment’s Equal protection Clause, which requires voting districts to have equal numbers of residents.
New York State’s reliance on the Census Bureau’s data for prison population also violates the New York State law in two ways: it runs afoul of the New York State Constitution, which states in Article 2, section 4 that, for the purpose of voting, “no person shall he deemed to have gained or lost a residence…while confined in any public prison;”
Similarly, subdivision 1 of section 5-104 of the New York Election Law directs that “[F] or the purpose of registering and voting “no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence…while confined in any public prison.”
Crediting the population of prisoners to the Census block where they are temporarily and involuntarily held creates electoral inequities at all levels of government. These electoral inequities are apparent in New York, where out of a prison population of approximately 60,000, over 75% of people in prison are people of color and over 70% are from urban communities. Urban communities including Albany, Buffalo, New York City, Rochester, and Syracuse are being shortchanged for purposes of redistricting in favor of rural communities, leading to vote dilution for urban communities of color across the state. This significant vote inflation in rural communities is compounded at the local levels, as most counties, cities, and towns use federal census data to draw their local legislative district and ward boundaries.
Until the Census Bureau provides the information necessary to allocate people in prison to their addresses prior to incarceration, the problem should be dealt with by the state. On August 11, 2010, Governor Paterson signed legislation sponsored by Senator Eric Schneiderman directing LATFOR to reallocate prison populations back to verifiable “homes of record” where the prisoner resided prior to his or her incarceration for state legislative and local governmental redistricting. LATFOR will obtain the prison count population data from the New York State Department of Correctional Services. See Chapter Laws of 2010, Chapter 57, Part XX.
The Prison Policy Initiative downloaded the above text from the NY State Senate website on December 14, 2010.
by Peter Wagner, December 2, 2010
CountyNews, published by the National Association of Counties has a new article that previews the Census Bureau’s data release schedule. The article, by director of research and outreach, Jacqueline Byers, includes a lengthy discussion of the Census Bureau’s Advanced Group Quarters file to be published in May 2011.
For the first time, the Census Bureau will be publishing their prison count data early enough that counties that wish to avoid padding individual districts with large prisons populations can use Census Bureau data to do so. Now counties, if they choose, can be sure that they are not drawing districts around prison populations and avoid unintentionally diluting the votes of everyone who doesn’t live immediately adjacent to a prison.
Read the whole article New Census Data Distribution Soon Underway.
by Aleks Kajstura, December 1, 2010
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law published their 2010 edition of “A Citizen’s Guide to Redistricting.”
The guide is “updated and expanded to include recent court decisions as well as the latest changes to state and congressional redistricting processes across the country. This Guide will provide engaged citizens with the knowledge and tools they need to get involved with this round of redistricting, and to work towards continuing reform in the decades to come.”
The report includes issues of prison-based gerrymandering in the larger context of decennial redistricting and provides an excellent summary of the impact of the Census Bureau’s prison miscount on redistricting efforts:
Incarcerated individuals – disproportionately poor and minorities – are currently tallied by the Census Bureau for redistricting purposes where they are imprisoned. This artificially inflates the voting power of prison districts, where people in prison generally cannot vote and are not meaningfully represented, at the expense of their home communities. Incarcerated individuals should be counted for redistricting purposes in the communities where they lived before their incarceration, which Delaware, Maryland, and New York recognized in their 2010 laws adjusting the Census population counts for redistricting. Similar bills were introduced in Congress, and in at least six other states, during 2009 and 2010. Furthermore, though local governments rarely have jurisdiction over both prisons and home communities, many local governments will use a new Census prison dataset in the 2011 cycle to adjust the population they do control: people in prisons who should not be considered permanent local residents for redistricting purposes.
by Aleks Kajstura, November 29, 2010
The New Haven Register recently published “New Haven legislator eyes inmate residency” by Angela Carter.
The story provides a great introduction to the prison-based gerrymandering problems facing Connecticut. Although the Connecticut legislature failed to pass reforms last session, there is renewed hope for ending prison-based gerrymandering in Connecticut next year:
With the initial backing of Connecticut Common Cause and the Prison Policy Initiative, state Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, D-New Haven, says he will introduce a bill in the 2011 legislative session that would change how residency of state prisoners is determined.
For more information about prison-based gerrymandering in Connecticut see our continually updated page on the current campaign for change in Connecticut.
by Aleks Kajstura, November 19, 2010
Last week the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) launched its public education program “Redrawing the Lines.”
The newly-unveiled website features user-friendly content that providing an overview of the redistricting process. The site has a Redistricting 101 guide that includes a page on the impact of prison populations on redistricting. Efforts to end prison-based gerrymandering are also highlighted among other reform efforts.
Although rarely discussed in the context of redistricting, both the census miscount of prisoners and felon disfranchisement laws have a significant impact on minority communities. While much of the redistricting reform debate has focused on partisanship and IRCs, these proposals have failed to address two very significant problems faced by minority communities during the redistricting process.
The Redrawing the Lines program promotes the importance of participating in the redistricting process, the site provides a good general summary of the ways in which the districting process is manipulated and encourages everyone to get involved.
by Peter Wagner, November 18, 2010
Last night I spoke on a panel with director Jeff Reichert at a screening of the Gerrymandering at Yale Law School Room 129 in New Haven CT. The event was organized by Common Cause Connecticut, American Constitution Society and Yale Law School Democrats. Many of the key advocates for ending prison-based gerrymandering were there, including Common Cause Connecticut Executive Director Cheri Quickmire, State Representative Gary Holder-Winfield, and former state Representative Bill Dyson.
Turnout was great, and the discussion was excellent. Screenings like these are key to raising awareness and building more momentum for reform. But what’s missing? You.
We need to organize more screenings of the film. The next one that I’ll be attending is not until Dec. 9 in Marblehead Mass. If you can’t make it to Massachusetts, contact us or director Jeff Reichert about scheduling a screening near you.
Check out the trailer:
or my little part in the film:
by Peter Wagner, November 12, 2010
Pam Adams has an excellent column in the Journal Star in Peoria Illinois: Are legislative maps hurting prison reforms?
She explains that gerrymandering districts around prisons helps makes reforming the budget-busting prison system more difficult. But unlike New York, Illinois’ districts with large prisons are evenly distributed between Republicans and Democrats. The bi-partisan support for retaining prison-based gerrymandering doesn’t make ending the practice any easier, but if Illinois wants to fair districts to guide the state for the next decade, reform is needed:
“The state has about 50,000 men and women in prison. Though most of the state’s prisons are downstate, most of the state’s prison inmates are from the Chicago area. Most of them will return to the Chicago area in less than two years. Counting prison inmates where they’re confined rather than where they live means Chicago basically exports political power to prison-padded districts downstate.
“We ought to be a bit more grateful to Chicago down here. Especially with a round of legislative redistricting on the horizon and downstate potentially in line to lose yet another Illinois House seat because population hasn’t kept up with the competition.
“Except it’s not fair. Not to the prison inmates who can’t vote. Not to voters in districts that don’t have prisons. Not to basic democratic principles.
“And it definitely doesn’t provide much political incentive to pass reforms that would reduce the more than $1 billion annually the state spends on prisons.”
Read the entire column: Are legislative maps hurting prison reforms?
See also our Organizing Against Prison-Based Gerrymandering in Illinois page for more research, fact sheets and news coverage. Or see Pam Adams earlier column about prison-based gerrymandering: Where should prisoners be counted?.
by Aleks Kajstura, November 8, 2010
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund created an interactive map highlighting key voting rights issues across the United States. Prison-based gerrymandering was included among Voting Rights Act violations, voter purging, access to polling places, and other issues standing in the face of fair elections.
Examples of prison-based gerrymandering include:
Texas:
Both Harris and Dallas counties, the largest counties in Texas, lose the most people when prisoners are counted in prison districts rather than their actual residences. Harris County, for instance, makes up 16.3 percent of the state’s population, but supplies 21.5 percent of the state’s prisoners, losing about 25,000 people in its Census count.
Idaho:
Native American and Latino communities are overrepresented in the Idaho prison system, yet they are counted in the Census as residents of their prison rather than their home communities. These disfranchised prisoners lend political power to prison towns even though they are not deemed constituents of the representatives who serve these areas.
Oklahoma:
Seven of Oklahoma’s House districts meet the federal minimal population requirements because incarcerated citizens are counted as residents of the district in which their prison is located.
In addition to prison-based gerrymandering problems in other states, the LDF also highlights work already done in Delaware, Maryland, and New York:
Progress: In September 2010, the governor of Delaware signed House Bill 284, which requires that prison inmates be counted at their place of residence prior to incarceration, marking an important step in the effort to end the long practice of prison-based gerrymandering.
Progress: This year, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law the No Representation Without Population Act. This Act will help ensure that individuals who are in prison are counted in their home districts rather than the districts where they are currently incarcerated during redistricting.
Progress: LDF congratulates the New York State Senate and Governor Patterson for ending prison-based gerrymandering in New York. This courageous decision will bring New York’s redistricting process in line with basic principles of democracy, and will serve as a model for other states in the effort to count incarcerated populations correctly in the next round of redistricting.
by Aleks Kajstura, October 14, 2010
Gerrymandering is great!
Gerrymandering, the movie, that is. Jeff Reichert’s new documentary, Gerrymandering has a segment on prison-based gerrymandering featuring the findings of the Prison Policy Initiative, and our Executive Director, Peter Wagner.
Some reviews from critics more impartial than us:
“Riveting.” – Bob Mondello, NPR All Things Considered
“An exceptionally entertaining film.” – Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine
“Every American voter should see this.” – Paul Constant, The Stranger
“****. If you care about the future of America, see this movie.” – Matt Thomas, NY Examiner
“Cinematic – in the best way – all the way through.” – Howard Feinstein, Screen International
“A film seemingly made for Jon Stewart’s ‘Restoring Sanity’ movement.” – Stan Hall, The Oregonian
The once-obscure issue of prison-based gerrymandering has come a long way over the past decade. Gerrymandering‘s coverage of prison-based gerrymandering even made it’s way into Moviefone’s musings about the nature of documentaries!
Trailer:
In addition to one-time screenings, the movie is going to be officially openes in limited release tomorrow, October 15, 2010. We have a supplemental factsheet [PDF] available for download, if you’re going to see the movie feel free to print some off and hand them out!
Learn more about the organization behind the Prison Gerrymandering Project.
The transfer of Black and Latino incarcerated people to communities very different than their own is a nationwide problem.
We explain that prison gerrymandering is bad for democracy but federal & state aid are not impacted.
How a prison helped one man get elected with just two votes.