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

Redistricting explained

by Peter Wagner, March 15, 2004

We’ve written two new articles that explain how redistricting works. The first is a theoretical introduction to the topic and the second explains how the transfer of prisoners can change the outcome of elections on the border between different regions of the state.

Redistricting Matters: Small changes in the boundary lines mean huge electoral effects uses some simple illustrations to illustrate why redistricting matters.

Hanging in the balance? is about New York State Senate district 34 which straddles the border of NYC’s Bronx county and Westchester county in such a way as to use Bronx residents to create a Westchester district.

Related briefings:

  1. Redistricting Matters: Small changes in the boundary lines mean huge electoral effects +
  2. Border districts hang in the balance of Census counting decisions +
  3. World’s largest jail skews voting power in controversial New York district +

  — Blog Archives —     — Best of —  


Stay Informed


Get the latest updates:



Share on 𝕏 Donate