Help End Prison Gerrymandering Prison gerrymandering funnels political power away from urban communities to legislators who have prisons in their (often white, rural) districts. More than two decades ago, the Prison Policy Initiative put numbers on the problem and sparked the movement to end prison gerrymandering.

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—Peter Wagner, Executive Director
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Clay County, Kentucky

According to the 2000 Census, Clay County, Kentucky has a population of 24,556 people. Of those, 23,063 (94%) are White, 1,178 (5%) are Black, and 333 (1%) are Latino[1]. However, 1,748 (or 7% of the 24,556 people) are not residents by choice but are people in prison.

Even though prisoners cannot participate in the local community, the Census Bureau nevertheless counts them as residents of the county where they are incarcerated.

A more accurate description would not include the prisoners. This would give Clay County a population of 22,808 with a demographic that is 98% White, 2% Black, and 1% Latino.

Reported in
Census 2000
Incarcerated
population
Actual
population
Total 24,556 1,748 22,808
White 23,063 808 22,255
Black 1,178 831 347
Latino 333 189 144


Notes:

[1]The numbers for Whites, Blacks and Latinos may not add up to the total number because we have not included racial groups other than Whites and Blacks and because the Census Bureau considers "Latino" to be an ethnicity, not a race. Most of the people reported as being Latino are also counted as being White or Black.



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