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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—Peter Wagner, Executive DirectorDonate

Prisoners and the census bibliography

Last update: November 2006

2006

Not included
Not yet included on this page are the state profiles written for this website and blog columns written after October 2006. If we've missed an article you've written, let us know.

2005

2004

2003

2002

  • Taxpayers before wards, by Linda Martz, Mansfield News Journal (Mansfield, OH), November 26, 2002, p. 6A
  • City council realigns ward boundaries, by Linda Martz, Mansfield News Journal (Mansfield, OH), November 19, 2002, p. 8A
  • Meet the neighbors; Census website offers loads of information, by Matt Scallan, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans), November 16, 2002, p. 1
  • Area's prison ranks surge ahead of rest of population, by Tom Aikens and Debra Erdley [Pittsburgh] Tribune-Review, November 7, 2002
  • Voters deny it, but race my affect McCall's chances, by Tom Precious, Buffalo News, October 20, 2002. p. A1
  • Building a prison economy in rural America by Tracy Huling in Invisible Punishment. October, 2002.
  • Diluting democracy: Census quirk fuels prison expansion, [PDF], by Peter Wagner, Prison Policy Initiative, October 2002
  • The Prison Boom By Sasha Abramsky, Gotham Gazette August 19, 2002
  • Census Bureau finds misplaced prison in Wise County; Agency recently corrected population counts for 9 places in VA, by Ray Reed, Roanoke Times, June 15, 2002, p. B3
  • How the U.S prison system makes minority communities pay, by Zachary Dowdy, Crisis Magazine, July/August 2002
  • Highwood wants its $77,000; neighbor says don't count on it, by Amanda Vogt, Chicago Tribune, June 12, 2002, p. 5
  • Splitsville's Sad Song: 'I Said I Do but Now I Don't' by Sara Rimer, New York Times, June 7, 2002, p. A20
  • Just Call This Town Splitsville; South Salt Lake leads the state in percentage of divorced people; Singles Find a Haven In South Salt Lake, by Vince Horiuchi, The Salt Lake Tribune, June 9, 2002, p. B1
  • Income drop fails to deter businesses, by Indraneel Sur, Hartford Courant, June 3, 2002, p. B3
  • Harvard study points to segregation in suburbs, by Tom Walsh, Boston Herald, May 31, 2002, p. 1
  • Missouri Attorney General's Opinion 65-2002
  • St. Lawrence redistricting foes to appeal court ruling, by Matt Guardino, Watertown Daily Times, April 27, 2002
  • Importing Constituents: Prisoners and Political Clout in New York, Peter Wagner, Prison Policy Initiative, April 22, 2002.
  • Testimony before the New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, Peter Wagner, March 14, 2002. Prepared testimony available in HTML or PDF format. Or read the Transcript
  • Minority Prison Inmates Skew Local Populations as States Redistrict by Jonathan Tilove, Newhouse News Service, March 12, 2002
  • When criminals pay off, by Associated Press, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN), March 9, 2002, p. A2
  • New jail adds up to revenue for township, by Jason Cody, Times Herald (Port Huron, MI), February 24, 2002, P. 1A
  • Remap plan excludes private prison inmates, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA), February 21, 2002, p. 3B
  • Sprawling for prisoners, by Robert Whiteside, Harpers Magazine, February 21, 2002, p. 88
  • Sterling ponders SCF count in redistricting plan, by Forrest Hershberger, Sterling (Colorado) Journal-Advocate, February 16, 2002, p. 1
  • Commission approves new district lines, by Robert Blankenship, Brewton Standard, February 7, 2002
  • Mayor wants inmates in census count, by Bartholomew Sullivan, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN), February 7, 2002, p. B2
  • Suit filed to disregard prison in remap plan, by Acadiana Bureau, the Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA), February 6, 2002
  • Suit disputes redrawn lines; Basile residents contest process, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA), February 5, 2002, p. 3B, 1B
  • Census misplaces prison, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 5, 2002, p. D5
  • Census was better than ever this time, by Clark Billings, The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY), January 5, 2002
  • Prisons have brought new level of prosperity to Bee County, by Carlos Guerra, San Antonio Express-News, January 3, 2002, p. 1B
  • Big house on the prairie; Despite protests by some, small-town leaders have sought out prisons as economic saviors. Both the critics' deepest fears and the boosters' highest hopes are likely to go unfulfilled, FedGazette, January 2002
  • Inmate enumeration methods and legislative districting in the United States, by Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, unpublished manuscript, January 2002.
  • 2000 Census helps prisoners escape from Hempfield Twp. to Youngwood by By Tom Aikens Pittsburg Tribune Review, undated

2001

  • Who counts? To be fair with federal funding, federal census must be accurate, (editorial) Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard, December 27, 2001
  • Cities challenge census counts in dorms, prisons; Wrong addresses translate into less revenue, officials say, by Associated Press, December 21, 2001
  • Communities claim 2000 census counted people in wrong locations, by Associated Press, Chattanooga Times, December 21, 2001, p. A12
  • Referendum Supporters Hope to Exclude Prisoners in Redistricting Count. by Jody Tosti, North County Public Radio (New York) December 14, 2001
  • Prison profits replace a waning coal-mining industry; residents hope the prison will boost employment in the coalfields of Virginia, by Laurence Hammack, The Roanoke Times, December 9, 2001, p. A1
  • Inmate miscount flubs census; zero prisoners were counted in Wise County, home of Wallens Ridge and Red Onion, by Ray Reed, Roanoke Times, December 8, 2001, p. B1
  • Census errors may affect city districts in N.Y., by Peter Lin, Cornell Daily Sun, December 7, 2001
  • Prisoner undercount undercuts coffers, at $70 per inmate in tax revenue, the census error must be fixed, cities say, by Dorothy Korber, Sacramento Bee, December 4, 2001
  • The Upstate-Downstate Debate by Kevin Strouse and Mark Berkey-Gerard, Gotham Gazette, December 4, 2000
  • Competing for prisons, by Marc Mauer, New York Times, December 3, 2001, p. A18
  • Not down for the big count, by Hubert Herring, New York Times, December 2, 2001, section 4, page 2.
  • Bradbury gives court new map on redistricting, by Lisa Grace Lednicer, The Oregonian, November 29, 2001, p. B7
  • Census said to misplace many prisons and dorms, by Janny Scott, New York Times, November 28, 2001, p. A16
  • Sing Sing behind bars -- sand bars, according to census; Map error ties prison to census tract that sits in Hudson river, by Michael Gannon, Journal News (Westchester County, NY), November 24, 2001, p. 10B
  • [Oregon] Reapportionment may vary from census figures, National Law Journal, November 5, 2001, p. B7.
  • Bradbury will hear ideas on redistricting fix, by Lisa Grace Lednicer, The Oregonian, November 3, 2001, p. E2
  • Oregon Supreme Court approves legislative redistricting plan, by David Steves, Register Guard, October 19, 2001
  • Bradbury's redistricting plan upheld by justices, by Lisa Grace Lednicer, The Oregonian, October 19, 2001, p. A1
  • Redistricting proposal fails to satisfy Supreme Court, by Lisa Grace Lednicer, The Oregonian, October 16, 2001, p. B1
  • Census miscalculates prisoners, college students, by William Fulton and Christopher Williamson, California Planning and Development Report, October 1, 2001, p. 11
  • Census undercount protests filed; 45 counties, cities lodge complaints, by David Olinger, Denver Post, September 11, 2001, p. B1
  • Going to extremes, by Coleman Warner and Matt Scallan, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans), September 3, 2001, p. 1
  • Census count of inmates can skew voting outcomes, by Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman (letter), Indianapolis Star, August 29, 2001, p. A19
  • Newsworthy and thistle-worthy, (editorial) The Des Moines Register, August 25, 2001, p. 10
  • Population decreases; inmates were omitted, Des Moines Register, August 24, 2001, p. 2
  • Full employment prisons, (editorial) New York Times, August 23, 2001, p. A18
  • A growth industry cools as New York prisons thin, by David Rohde, New York Times, August 21, 2001, p. A1
  • Decatur: City of Prisons, by Mitch Chase, Decatur Daily (AL), August 20, 2001
  • Prison population caused census boost, State Journal-Regester (Springfield, IL), August 12, 2001, p. 19
  • Annexing the penitentiary Crime pays: Since Census counts convicts, some towns can't get enough---federal and state funds tied to total population help Florence, Ariz., rebuild, by Nicholas Kulish, The Wall Street Journal, August 9, 2001
  • Census correction expected next year, by Associated Press, Charleston Gazette, August 7, 2001, p. 2C
  • Rural towns turn to prisons to reignite their economies, by Peter Kilborn, New York Times, August 1, 2001
  • >Where the Boys Are - and Aren't by Donald W. Bogie, Montgomery Advertiser
  • No reason to shift inmate census count, (editorial), Indianapolis Star, July 23, 2001, p. 6A
  • Buckeye wants 3,400 state inmates counted as residents, by Connie Cone Sexton, Arizona Republic, July 17, 2001, p. 1B
  • Prisoners skew count by yield benefits: Counting inmates as part of population has brought funds -- and a debate over methods, by Jennifer Wagner, Indianapolis Star, July 15, 2001, p. B1
  • Counties attempting to fix census errors, by Elizabeth Lynch, Poughkeepsie Journal, July 15, 2001
  • Prisons spur population growth, by John Bonfatti, Buffalo News, July 9, 2001, p. A1
  • Residents vanished, according to census error at apartments for seniors raises accuracy questions, by Marc Davis, Virginian Pilot, June 27, 2001, p. A1
  • Madera County supervisors tweak district boundaries, by Charles McCarthy, Fresno Bee, June 26, 2001, p. B1
  • Redistricting to count federal inmates, by Scott Hadly, News-Press (Santa Barbara, CA) June 20, 2001
  • Census finds St. Cloud prison empty; Bureau glitch misplacing some residents of 'group living quarters', by David Peterson, Star Tribune (Minneapolis MN), June 19, 2001 p. 1A
  • 'Missing' prison in the right place; 3,297 inmates are found on the Madera County census map, by Charles McCarthy, The Fresno Bee, June 13, 2001, p. B3.
  • Corcoran, Visalia dispute population, City officials say an undercount could cost them, by Kerri Ginis and Lewis Griswold, The Fresno Bee, June 4, 2001, p. A1.
  • Gardner excludes prison inmates from political map, by Mary Jo Hill, Worcester Telegram and Gazette, June 5, 2001 p. B4.
  • Prisoners in middle of political fray: Supervisors grapple over whether to count 3,500 Lompoc inmates in 3rd District, by Scott Hadly, News-Press (Santa Barbara, CA) May 30, 2001
  • Doing time is money for prison towns, by Susan Smith, Austin American-Statesman, May 30, 2001
  • Mistakes in census expensive, Errors in counting convicts could cost local areas millions, by Gordon Trowbridge, Detroit News, May 29, 2001, p. 1
  • Census error stalls redistricting plans: Soledad state prison inmates misplaced, by Larry Parsons, The Californian, May 29, 2001.
  • Census slip-up shouldn't have big impact here: 7,000 prisoners may help Soledad's count, though, by Larry Parsons, The Californian, May 29, 2001.
  • Census error leaves city low: Prison Inmates accidentally put in Salinas, by Larry Parsons, The Californian, May 29, 2001.
  • More iving inside institutions; Prison population boom in 1990s, by Gaiutra Bahudur, Austin American-Statesman, May 25, 2001
  • An accurate count? Misallocations seen in rural areas of state, by John Bonfatti, Buffalo News, May 22, 2001, p. A1
  • Misplaced prisons drag down census, by John Kohlstrand, Democrat and Chronicle, May 22, 2001.
  • Inmates add big numbers to rural towns, by Shaun Schafer, Tulsa World, May 18, 2001
  • Bill would label jails low-income housing, by Rick Klein, Boston Globe, May 16, 2001, p. A1
  • Officials think Census missed 7,500 in Stafford, by Janel Marshall, Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA) May 12, 2001
  • Pryce asks census to correct prison error, by Steve Smith, Madison Press, May 2, 2001
  • Losing at the numbers game: Census figures cost town of Harvard, by Cindy Rodriguez, Boston Globe, April 28, 2001, p. B1.
  • Were schools and prisons miscounted?, by Holly Zachariah, Columbus Dispatch, April 22, 2001, p.1C
  • Prison population skews census degree of diversity in Cayuga County count is not evident on the streets, by Dave Tobin, Post-Standard, April 18, 2001
  • Census methods result in inflated populations for rural Colorado [PDF], by Colorado Prison Moratorium Coalition, April 9, 2001.
  • Prison Blues: How the census fuels the explosion of prison cells and medieval drug laws, by Andrew Friedman, Feed Magazine, April 3, 2001
  • Census counts of prison populations benefit rural areas and take away from inner cities, by Michelle Garcia, Marketplace, April 2, 2001
  • Prisons hold the key to population puzzle, by Kera Ritter, Plain Dealer, March 22, 2001, p. A11
  • Census figures say 834 blacks live there. Where are they? Troutdale perplexed by phenomenal growth numbers, by A.W. Hauslohner, Roanoke Times, March 28 2001
  • Felon's rights vary by state, by Ed Timms, Dallas Morning News, March 18, 2001, p. 53A
  • Prisons may influence racial composition of area towns, by Jessica Aberle, Peoria Journal Star, March 16, 2001
  • Unfree, non-voting and all over Texas, (editorial) Austin American-Statesman, March 14, 2001
  • Legislators brace for altered districts in wake of Census by Scott MacKay, Providence Journal-Bulletin, March 12, 2001.
  • Growth secret: Inmates or students by Gary Rotstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 12, 2001
  • Affordable housing fight looms, by Thomas Grillo, Boston Globe, March 4, 2001, p. H1.
  • Locking Up the Vote by Lani Guinier, American Prospect, March 2001
  • Census seen as captive to jail population, loophole said to skew funds by Cindy Rodriguez, Boston Globe, January 26, 2001, p. A2
  • Wenona makes case for prison tonight, by M.K. Guetersloh, The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL) January 18, 2001
  • City looks to lock up growth, Residents unite behind prison big, by Michael Freimann, The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL) January 17, 2001
  • Ex-Utahn defends decision by bureau that cost state seat, by Elyse Hayes, Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah), January 10, 2001, p. A1
  • Leavitt may challenge Census count, may ask for Missionaries to be included in count, by Joe Baird, Salt Lake Tribune, January 6, 2001, p. A1

2000

  • Where do prisoners live: Do taxpayers have a valid legal claim for lost federal funds resulting from the Census Bureau's enumeration standard pertaining to prisoenrs?, by Elizabeth D. Mehling, University of Toledo Law Review, Fall 2000. 32 U. Tol. L. Rev 47.
  • Prison Math: Thanks to census, big money comes to small towns, by Meleah Maynard, City Pages, October 25, 2000.
  • Building a boom behind bars; Prisons revive small towns, but costs are emerging, by Lynne Duke, Washington Post, September 8, 2000.
  • Census dollars bring bounty to prison towns, by Molly Dugan, The Chicago Reporter, July/August 2000
  • Prisoner Nation; prisons skew census results, by Beverly Gage, The Nation, July 17, 2000, p. 5.
  • One Community's Lawbreakers Are Another's Growth Industry, by Matthew Purdy, The New York Times, June 25, 2000, p. 25
  • Even prisoners counted in Census, by Asosciated Press, Deseret News (Salt Lake City), May 22, 2000
  • Prisoners of the Census by Tracy Huling, Mojo Wire, May 10, 2000
  • Prison cities cash in on Census 2000, by about.com, May 1, 2000
  • Counties with new prisons see census counts swell, by Associated Press, April 24, 2000
  • Cell count: Census forms receive mixed reception at state, county jails, by Annette Kondo, Los Angeles Times, April 20, 2000, page B1.
  • Inmates boost local coffers; Census counts inmates as upstate residents so extra state, federal aid stays here, by Jon Hand, Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY), April 13, 2000
  • Shipping Prisoners Could Cut State's Census Count, by Agnes Diggs, The Advocate (Stamford, CT) April 10, 2000
  • Prisoners to be part of census by Associated Press with Liz Everett, Globe-News (Amarillo, TX), April 4, 2000
  • Cities counting on inmate census, by Dorothy Korber, Sacramento Bee, April 30, 2000
  • Inmates add to census, by M.K. Guetersloh, The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL) April 20, 2000
  • Asking 'stupid' questions: Inmates criticize census forms as irrelevant to prison situation, Tina A. Brown, Hartford Courant, April 4, 2000, p. B7
  • Headcount comes to prisons, by John Christoffersen, Associated Press, April 4, 2000
  • Census time: Will the felon please rise, by Clyde Haberman, New York Times, April 4, 2000
  • Prisoner count tips census scales, funds don't go to their hometowns. by Zachary Dowdy, Newsday, April 3, 2000, pA6.
  • Census takers to tally state's inmates, by Claire Vitucci, Press Enterpreise (Riverside, CA), April 1, 2000
  • Locked up in the Census Count, (op-ed) by Tracy Huling and Marc Mauer, Chicago Tribune, March 29, 2000
  • Count them in, Prisoners add to census figures, by Pete Bosak, Tribune-Democrat (Johnston, PA), March 27, 2000, p. A1
  • How can inmates make a buck? Fill out census form; A regional census official says that the incentive protgram for prisoners may be unique to Minnesota. The money will come from a surcharge on inmate services, officials say., by David Chanen, Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), March 25, 2000
  • Towns put dreams in prisons; rural areas see the potential for economic gains, by David Heinzmann, Chicago Tribune, March 20, 2001, p. 1.
  • Economic lockdown: with unemployment largely unaffected and jobs going to residents of larger cities, the Valley prison population boom hasn't been the economic boon advertised, Fresno Bee, January 9, 2000, p. A1
  • Following the Dollars: Where New York State spends its prison moneys, by City Project (report) March 2000

1999

  • Final vote tally gives Grafton mayor's job to Kendle, by Joseph Wagner, Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) November 19, 1999
  • Chardon Village ready to take on cityhood's duties, by Karen Farkas, Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) July 2, 1999
  • Prisoners will be locked out of Grafton's Census count, by Jennifer Gonzalez, Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) June 29, 1999
  • Lawmaker takets his case for counting out-of-state inmates to House panel, by Craig Gilbert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 10, 1999, p. 2.
  • House open to change in Census, Grafton wants to omit prisoners, by Jennifer Gonzalez, Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) May 12, 1999
  • The prison bloc, (editorial), Bangor Daily News, May 3, 1999
  • Prisons as a Growth Industry in Rural America: An Exploratory Discussion of the Effects on Young African American Men in the Inner Cities. Tracy L. Huling, The Crisis of The Young African American Male in the Inner Cities, A Consultation of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, April 15-16, 1999, Washington, D.C
  • A prisoner of Census, Grafton pleads to remain a village; officials don't want inmates in population count, fear higher taxes, by Jennifer Gonzalez, Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) April 11, 1999
  • Prisoners and the 2000 Census by Robert T. Hoetzel, Prisoners.com, undated.

1998

  • Prisoner transfers reduce census count: State will fight policy that doesn't count inmates housed out of state, by Kenneth R. Lamke, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 28, 1998, p. 1
  • Felon Disenfranchisement: Pennsylvania's Sinister Face of Vote Dilution, by Jon E. Yount.

1997

  • Prisons: A growth industry for some; Colorado County is a grateful host to 7,000 involuntary guests, by James Brooke, New York Times, November 2, 1997, p. 20
  • Rural prison as colonial master, by Christian Parenti, Z Magazine, June 1997.
  • Utah cons lose their liberty, not their vote, by Brian Mafflay, Salt Lake Tribune, April 7, 1997

1996

  • Rural Prisons: An Update [PDF], by Calvin Beale, Rural Development Perspectives Vol 11, No 2, 1996

1993

  • Imprisoner's dilemma, by Daniel Feldman, American Prospect, June 23, 1993
  • 20 years of prison expansion: A failing national strategy, by Daniel Feldman, Public Administration Review, November/Devember 1993
  • Prisons, Population, and Jobs in Non-metro America, by Calvin Beale, Rural Development Perspectives, vol. 8, no. 3, 1993.

1981

  • Wisconsin Attorney General Opinion 70 Op. Atty Gen. Wis. 80 (April 27, 1981)

1963

  • Model State Constitution, National Municipal League's Model State Constitution, 1963, Section 4.04


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