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

The impact on local democracy

Pointing out the jail on the City of Ocala redistricting mapRural residents who live in the same community as a prison, but not in its district, have their voting power severely diluted. Many communities across the nation have taken the initiative to correct the problem themselves by manually correcting flawed Census data. Twelve states (California, Connecticut, Colorado, Mississippi, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee,Virginia, and Washington) encourage or even require local governments to exclude prison populations during redistricting.

As part of our research and organizing, the Prison Policy Initiative has identified prison gerrymandering in counties, cities, towns, and school districts after the 2020, 2010, and 2000 Censuses:

Prison gerrymandering in counties, cities and towns after the 2020 Census

Counties

  • Alabama: Bibb
  • Arizona: Pinal
  • Georgia: Baldwin, Bibb, Bulloch, Chatham, Clayton, Decatur, Dougherty, Evans, Fulton, Hart, Jefferson, Lee, Lowndes, Mitchell, Richmond, Sumter, Treutlen, Troup, Ware
  • Idaho: Clinton, Idaho
  • Kansas: Reno
  • Kentucky: Clay, Lyon
  • Minnesota: Rice, Waseca
  • Montana: Deer Lodge
  • Nevada: Carson City
  • New Mexico: Cibola
  • Oklahoma: Beckham, Caddo, Craig, Hughes, Muskogee, Okfuskee, Pittsburg
  • Pennsylvania: Erie
  • Tennessee: Bedford, Bledsoe, Lake, Lauderdale. Wayne
  • Wisconsin: Adams, Jackson, Juneau

Cities and Towns

  • Arizona: Buckeye
  • Indiana: Michigan City
  • Iowa: Mount Pleasant
  • Massachusetts: Gardner
  • Minnesota: Waseca
  • Missouri: Fulton, Pacific
  • New Hampshire: Concord
  • North Carolina: Lumberton
  • Ohio: Mansfield, Marion
  • Oregon: Pendleton, Salem
  • Rhode Island: Cranston
  • South Carolina: Columbia
  • South Dakota: Sioux Falls
  • Texas: Lockhart
  • Utah: South Salt Lake
  • Washington: Walla Walla
  • West Virginia: Charleston
  • Wisconsin: Waupun
  • Wyoming: Rawlins

Prison gerrymandering in counties, cities and towns after the 2010 Census

Counties

  • Alabama: Barbour, Bibb, Elmore, Limestone, Talladega
  • Arizona: Graham, Mohave, Navajo, Pinal
  • Arkansas: Chicot, Dallas, Izard, Jackson, Jefferson, Miller, Mississippi
  • California: Marin, Modoc, Santa Barbara, Solano
  • Florida: Baker, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Hardee, Hendry, Jefferson, Santa Rosa, Sumter, Union, Walton
  • Georgia: Appling, Augusta-Richmond Consolidated Government, Baldwin, Chatham, Clayton, Coffee, Decatur, Dougherty, Douglas, Emanuel, Evans, Hart, Jefferson, Lamar, Lee, Long, Lowndes, Mitchell, Modoc, Monroe, Montgomery, Richmond, Sumter, Treutlen, Troup, Ware, Wayne, Wilkes
  • Idaho: Fremont, Idaho
  • Illinois: Clinton, Kane, LaSalle, Macon, Peoria, St. Clair, Tazewell, Vermilion, Winnebago
  • Kansas: Ellsworth, Norton, Reno
  • Kentucky: Clay, Elliott, Franklin, Fulton, Henderson, Lyon, Shelby
  • Louisiana (Parishes): Allen, Beauregard, Catahoula, Franklin, Jackson, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Orleans, Ouachita, Rapides, Union, Washington, Webster, West Baton Rouge
  • Michigan: Washtenaw
  • Minnesota: Carlton, Chisago, Pine, Rice, Sherburne, Waseca
  • Missouri: Audrain, Callaway, Cooper, Livingston, Mississippi, Moniteau, Texas, Washington
  • Montana: Deer Lodge County
  • New Mexico: Cibola
  • New York: Columbia, Erie, Fulton, Saratoga, Ulster, Wayne
  • North Carolina: Anson, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Pamilco, Pasquotank, Robeson
  • Oklahoma: Atoka, Beckham, Caddo, Canadian, Cleveland, Comanche, Craig, El Reno, Grady, Harmon, Hughes, Jackson, Jefferson, Kiowa, Le Flore, Muskogee, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Osage, Payne, Pittsburg, Pottawatomie, Tillman, Tulsa, Woodward
  • Pennsylvania: Erie
  • South Carolina: Clarendon, Dorchester, Greenwood, Greenville, Lancaster, Richland, Williamsburg
  • Tennessee: Bledsoe, Davidson, Hardeman, Hancock, Hickman, Johnson, Lake, Lauderdale, Morgan, Tipton, Wayne
  • Texas: Brazos, Caldwell, Gray, Jefferson, Limestone, Parker
  • Virginia: Augusta, Bland, Buchanan, Buckingham, Culpeper, Fluvanna, Goochland, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, New Kent, Nottoway, Powhatan, Prince Edward, Pulaski, Scott, Southampton, Tazewell, Wise
  • Washington: Grays Harbor, Mason, Walla Walla
  • Wisconsin: Adams, Chippewa, Columbia, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Franklin, Jackson, Juneau, Racine, Sawyer, Sheboygan, Waushara, Winnebago

Cities and Towns

  • Alabama: Bay Minette, Gadsden, Jasper, Opelika
  • Arizona: Town of Buckeye, Globe
  • Arkansas: Pine Bluff
  • Delaware: Wilmington
  • Florida: Ocala, Panama City, Pompano Beach
  • Georgia: Abbeville, Carrollton, Covington, Cratersville, Douglasville, Lakeland, Lovejoy, Lumpkin, McDonough, Monroe, Moultrie, Perry, Unadilla
  • Illinois: Belleville, Chicago, Kankakee, Pittsfield, Rockford, Waukegan, Wheaton
  • Iowa: Clarinda, Mount Pleasant
  • Louisiana: Alexandria, Town of Farmerville, Lake Charles, Natchitoches, New Orleans
  • Massachusetts: Billerica, Dartmouth, Dedham, Framingham, Gardner, Ludlow, Plymouth, Walpole
  • Minnesota: Elk River, Hastings, Rochester, St. Cloud, Waseca
  • Missouri: Boonville, Chillicothe, Fulton, Monieau, Pacific, St. Joseph
  • Montana: Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Shelby
  • Nevada: Carson
  • New Jersey: Kearny, Newark, Trenton, Woodbury
  • New Hampshire: Concord
  • New Mexico: Farmington, Grants, Hobbs
  • North Carolina: Clinton, Goldsboro, Lumberton
  • Ohio: Mansfield, Marion, Marysville, Youngstown
  • Oklahoma: Chickasha, Lawton, McAlester, Woodward
  • Oregon: Pendelton, Salem
  • Rhode Island: Cranston
  • South Carolina: Columbia, North Charleston
  • South Dakota: Sioux Falls
  • Tennessee: Gallatin, Memphis, Springfield
  • Texas: Lockhart, Marlin
  • Utah: South Salt Lake
  • Virginia: Suffolk
  • Wisconsin: Baraboo, Boscobel, Chippewa Falls, Elkhorn, Fitchburg, Juneau, Racine, Waupun
  • Wyoming: Rawlins

Boards of Education

  • California: Richland School District
  • Florida: Columbia County School District, Hardee County School District, Hendry County School District, Walton County School District
  • Louisiana: Washington Parish School Board
  • North Carolina: Anson County, Caswell County, Franklin County, Granville County, Pamilco County

Prison gerrymandering in counties, cities and towns after the 2000 Census

Counties

Cities and Towns

  • Wyoming: Rawlins

    • School district:

    * These jurisdictions currently don't have prison gerrymandering problems, often because the prison is newer than the districts drawn after the 2000 Census, but unless action was taken, they are likely to have prison gerrymandering problems in their next round of redistricting, check the 2010 list or our page of governments that avoided prison gerrymandering for updates.

    If the town or city you are interested in does not appear on the above lists, it may be on our list of places that draw fair districts by excluding the prison population. You can also use the step-by-step guide in our Democracy Toolkit to look for prison gerrymandering yourself.



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