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.
Can you help us continue the fight? Thank you.
—Peter Wagner, Executive DirectorDonate
Can you help us continue the fight? Thank you.
—Peter Wagner, Executive DirectorDonate
Importing Constituents: Prisoners and Political Clout in Massachusetts
- Report: Importing Constituents: Prisoners and Political Clout in Massachusetts by Elena Lavarreda, Peter Wagner and Rose Heyer, October 6, 2009
- Press release Census Bureau counts Massachusetts prisoners in wrong place; access to democracy distorted
Coverage
The Prison Town Advantage Inmates who can't vote nevertheless add to the power of the politicians who don't represent them, by Maureen Turner, Valley Advocate (Western Mass.), October 8, 2009
Additional Resources
- Continually updated information on the current campaign for change in Massachusetts.
Report: Prison Gerrymandering in Massachusetts: How the Census Bureau prison miscount invites phantom constituents to town meeting by Aleks Kajstura, October 30, 2013. - Video: Prison gerrymandering in Massachusetts: The Census Bureau's prison miscount & town meeting
Recommended Reading:
About the Prison Policy Initiative
Learn more about the organization behind the Prison Gerrymandering Project.
The Racial Geography of Mass Incarceration
The transfer of Black and Latino incarcerated people to communities very different than their own is a nationwide problem.
Are legislative maps hurting prison reforms?
Pam Adams explains how in her downstate Illinois column.
Do prisons draw in Census money for their host communities? No.
We explain that prison gerrymandering is bad for democracy but federal & state aid are not impacted.