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
Articles by Hillary Fenton
- For California Counties, Preventing Prison-Based Gerrymandering is the Norm
Once again, ten California counties with large prison populations avoided prison-based gerrymandering when redrawing their board of supervisors' districts.
Sep 13, 2012 - Louisiana Local Governments’ Struggles With Prison-Based Gerrymandering Could Be Eased By State
Statewide legislation addressing prison-based gerrymandering would eliminate inconsistency and help to ensure that all Louisiana citizens have equal access to their local governments.
Aug 22, 2012 - Perfect Storm in Arkansas County Worsens Prison-Based Gerrymandering
The combination of a falling population and swelling prison made Jackson County's prison-based gerrymandering problem even worse.
Aug 10, 2012
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.
How to get elected without being a candidate first.
Iowa Public Radio explores how Anamosa Iowa ended prison gerrymandering.
