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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Taylor County, West Virginia

According to the 2000 Census, Taylor County, West Virginia has a population of 16,089 people. Of those, 15,779 (98%) are White, 134 (1%) are Black, and 95 (1%) are Latino[1]. However, 275 (or 2% of the 16,089 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 Taylor County a population of 15,814 with a demographic that is 98% White, 1% Black, and 1% Latino.

Reported in
Census 2000
Incarcerated
population
Actual
population
Total 16,089 275 15,814
White 15,779 236 15,543
Black 134 38 96
Latino 95 1 94


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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