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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Hughes County, Oklahoma

According to the 2000 Census, Hughes County, Oklahoma has a population of 14,154 people. Of those, 10,300 (73%) are White, 634 (4%) are Black, and 353 (2%) are Latino[1]. However, 1,000 (or 7% of the 14,154 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 Hughes County a population of 13,154 with a demographic that is 75% White, 2% Black, and 2% Latino.

Reported in
Census 2000
Incarcerated
population
Actual
population
Total 14,154 1,000 13,154
White 10,300 488 9,812
Black 634 348 286
Latino 353 56 297


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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