Senator Dilan includes prison fix in redistricting reform proposals

Two bills to create non-partisan redistricting commissions include a clause that will require incarcerated people to be counted at home.

by Peter Wagner, May 27, 2010

New York State Senator Martin Malavé Dilan (D-Brooklyn) has proposed two alternative reforms of the redistricting process in New York State. Senate bill 7881 and Senate bill 7882 change the composition of the redistricting committee that actually draws the lines, among other changes.

Notable for readers of this blog is that both bills require that:

The whole number of persons reported in the federal decennial census shall be the basis for determining populations for the purposes of this article, except that, for the purpose of determining the popu lations of senate and assembly districts, no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence by reason of conviction and incarceration in a federal or state correctional facility.

Because these bills are only directed at state redistricting, they would have no effect on prison-based gerrymandering in county and city governments; but it is positive to see the legislature include prison-based gerrymandering alongside that of partisan gerrymandering.

For more information, see Senator Dilan’s press release: Senator Dilan Proposes Practical and Realistic Framework for Reforming New York’s Redistricting Process.