Does your state prison gerrymander?
Critical Analysis
gerrymandering is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. In your own words, what does prison gerrymandering mean?
Every ten years, when the Census Bureau endeavors to count every person residing in the country, they make a mistake: they count incarcerated people as residents of the towns where they are confined, even though the incarcerated are barred from voting in 48 states and almost always return to their homes after being released. This practice is known as prison-gerrymandering. According to the visual above, how many states have banned prison gerrymandering?
Already California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and Washington State, and more than 200 cities and counties have taken action to end prison gerrymandering for their own residents. According to the data from the visual above does your state allow prison gerrymandering?
The visual above shows some counties and cities that have banned prison gerrymandering. How does that policy illustrate the concept of federalism?
47% of US residents now live in a state that has formally rejected prison gerrymandering, yet less than 47% of states have formally rejected prison gerrymandering. Explain how both of those things could be true.
Because prisons are disproportionately built in rural areas but most incarcerated people call urban areas home, counting prisoners in the wrong place results in a systematic transfer of population and political clout from urban to rural areas. For example: 40% of people incarcerated in Maryland prisons are from Baltimore, yet 90% of them are counted outside the city. Do you think that incarcerated people counted by the census should be counted as living at home or in prison?
"No taxation without representation" is a political slogan that originated in the American Revolution, and which expressed one of the primary grievances of the American colonists for Great Britain. In your opinion, does prison gerrymandering amount to taxation without representation?
The U.S. penal population of 2.2 million adults is by far the largest in the world. Just under one-quarter of the world's prisoners are held in American prisons. We’re number one! Explain whether you think that is good.
The U.S. rate of incarceration, with nearly 1 out of every 100 adults in prison or jail, is 5 to 10 times higher than the rates in Western Europe and other democracies. Why do you think we have so many more prisoners than other countries that are economically and politically similar to the U.S.?
Last month, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (who has spoken to AP Government students from my class!) from North Carolina, along with Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, and Rep. Emilia Strong Sykes of Ohio, introduced legislation to end prison gerrymandering nationwide. The bill would require the Census Bureau to count incarcerated people at their last known residence rather than their prison cell, which is where the Bureau currently counts them. When states and local governments draw political districts using Census data that counts incarcerated people in prisons, they unintentionally enhance the representation of people who live near prisons while diluting the representation of everyone else. This legislation would ensure that every community receives equal political representation. Would you support this bill?
Learning Extension
Read more about how prison gerrymandering works.
Action Extension
If you live in one of the states listed below, you can join an established campaign against prison gerrymandering:
Don't see your state on the list? More state campaigns are expected to form shortly, but you don't need to wait. You can get the facts about your state and start your own campaign.