DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy supports Prisoners of the Census bill

by Peter Wagner, June 25, 2009

The DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy has offered “enthusiastic support” for the Prisoners of the Census Bill.

Executive Director Roger Green explained how prison gerrymandering skews both voting and legislative priorities:

“The practice of including prisoners as residents of the prison districts where they do not vote or otherwise participate is not good public policy,” Mr. Green said. “The current system is filled with inequities. It allows many men and women from urban areas to become an undeserved source of political power for legislators and distant communities to benefit from incarcerating more people for longer sentences. At the same time, it works against the very communities to which these men and women will return.”