Plus: Two timely explainers about prison gerrymandering

Prison Gerrymandering Project for January 21, 2021 The 2010 Census counted more than 2 million people in the wrong place. How does your vote suffer as a result?

California clears the final hurdle to ending prison gerrymandering [[link removed]] In a unanimous decision, California's Redistricting Commission follows state legislature’s recommendation to count incarcerated people at home [[link removed]]

by Ginger Jackson-Gleich

When states, cities and counties draw new legislative districts this year, most of them will continue the unfair and undemocratic practice of prison gerrymandering [[link removed]]: Counting people in prison as residents of their prison cells rather than of their hometowns. As a result, districts that contain prisons will have their political power artificially inflated, at the expense of districts without prisons.

The good news is that nine states have passed laws ending prison gerrymandering — and as of last week, California is officially among them.

After the 2010 redistricting cycle, the California legislature passed a collection of bills—AB 420 (2011), AB 1986 (2012), AB 2172 (2018), and AB 849 (2019)—that sought to end prison gerrymandering at all levels of government.

At the local level, that legislation requires city and county governments to adjust redistricting data by counting incarcerated people in their home communities, rather than at the correctional facilities where they are detained. At the state level, the legislation recommends that the Citizens Redistricting Commission [[link removed]] make that same adjustment.

Last week, the Commission convened to discuss and vote on that recommendation. At the close of the meeting, the Commission adopted the legislature’s recommendation through a unanimous, bipartisan vote [[link removed]] of all those present.

The vote followed presentations by our own Aleks Kajstura and by Karin Mac Donald [[link removed]], Director of California’s Statewide Database and the Election Administration Research Center at UC Berkeley, as well as the submission of a letter [[link removed]] from Assemblymember Shirley Weber, Ph.D., author of AB 2172 and newly designated Secretary of State for California.

Illinois legislature passes bill ending prison gerrymandering [[link removed]] Illinois is poised to become the 10th state to end prison gerrymandering. [[link removed]]

by Aleks Kajstura

Illinois' HB 3653 [[link removed]], a major criminal justice reform package, contains provisions ending prison gerrymandering for state legislative districts. The final language passed both the Senate and House last Wednesday.

The bill was championed by Representative Slaughter and Senators Sims and Peters, building on the longstanding advocacy of Representative Ford.

If signed by Governor Pritzker, it will make Illinois the 10th state to end prison gerrymandering [[link removed]]. This reform represents a culmination of a decade-long effort, including CHANGE Illinois [[link removed]] and United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations [[link removed]] tirelessly pushing for reform.

Stay tuned for updates.

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Other news: Building momentum against prison gerrymandering

A third of people in the U.S. now live in a place that has ended prison gerrymandering. In this December article, we review the strategies and victories that have brought us to this point, and outline what still needs to be done to end prison gerrymandering in this country for good, including opportunities for reform in the current redistricting cycle.

Read our analysis. [[link removed]]

Since you asked: do opponents of prison gerrymandering want voter-only districting? [[link removed]]

With some people arguing that only eligible voters should be counted for purposes of redistricting, we explained our position on this issue: We believe that all persons, whether or not they can vote, are entitled to equal representation and that everyone should be counted for purposes of redistricting. When it comes to people in prison, the key concern is not whether they should count but where they should count.

Read our explainer. [[link removed]]

Our other newsletters General Prison Policy Initiative newsletter ( archives [[link removed]]) Criminal justice research library ( archives [[link removed]])

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Prison Policy Initiative

PO Box 127 Northampton, Mass. 01061

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