Articles by Jyoti Jasrasaria
- Massachusetts redistricting leaders urge the Census Bureau to change how it counts imprisoned people to provide a uniform approach for all 50 states and eliminate costly litigation
Without action on the part of the Census Bureau to change its residence rule for incarcerated people, Massachusetts cannot change its own procedures.
Jul 19, 2016 - Nation’s leading racial justice law firm explains discriminatory impact of counting incarcerated people as “residents” of prison facilities rather than their home communities
Prison gerrymandering dilutes the voting strength of urban areas where prisons are fewer and, thereby, weakens the political power of minority communities.
Jul 14, 2016 - Law School Professor explains how Census Bureau’s current practice of counting incarcerated people as “residents” of their prison facility results in two harms: misleading data and disproportionate political influence
Incarcerated individuals often have little in common with the residents in the communities surrounding their correctional facilities, and elected officials do not always consider incarcerated people their constituents.
Jul 13, 2016
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.