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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McKean County, Pennsylvania

According to the 2000 Census, McKean County, Pennsylvania has a population of 45,936 people. Of those, 44,312 (96%) are White, 860 (2%) are Black, and 485 (1%) are Latino[1]. However, 1,420 (or 3% of the 45,936 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 McKean County a population of 44,516 with a demographic that is 99% White, 0% Black, and 1% Latino.

Reported in
Census 2000		 Incarcerated
population		 Actual
population
Total 45,936 1,420 44,516
White 44,312 456 43,856
Black 860 745 115
Latino 485 240 245


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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