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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Concho County, Texas

According to the 2000 Census, Concho County, Texas has a population of 3,966 people. Of those, 3,498 (88%) are White, 39 (1%) are Black, and 1,639 (41%) are Latino[1]. However, 1,299 (or 33% of the 3,966 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 Concho County a population of 2,667 with a demographic that is 84% White, 0% Black, and 30% Latino.

Reported in
Census 2000
Incarcerated
population
Actual
population
Total 3,966 1,299 2,667
White 3,498 1,256 2,242
Black 39 36 3
Latino 1,639 831 808


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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