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
Importing Constituents: Prisoners and Political Clout in Oklahoma
- Report: Importing Constituents: Prisoners and Political Clout in Oklahoma by Peter Wagner and Elena Lavarreda, September 21, 2009
- Sidebar: A short primer on the types of correctional facilities in Oklahoma to guide the development of state-based solutions to the Census Bureau’s prison miscount
- Press release: Census Bureau counts Oklahoma prisoners in wrong place; Access to state and county government distorted
- Arcview shapefile [ZIP] of all prison populations in Census 2000 discussed in this report
Coverage
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Prisons can inflate districts' influence: A researcher says Oklahoma voters get unequal representation, by Michael Overall, Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) September 20, 2009
Prisons can inflate districts' influence: A researcher says Oklahoma voters get unequal representation, by Michael Overall, Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) September 20, 2009Recommended 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.