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.

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Houghton County, Michigan

According to the 2000 Census, Houghton County, Michigan has a population of 36,016 people. Of those, 34,402 (96%) are White, 339 (1%) are Black, and 251 (1%) are Latino[1]. However, 286 (or 1% of the 36,016 people) are not residents by choice but are people in prison.

Even though prisoners cannot participate in the local community, the Census Bureau nevertheless counts them as residents of the county where they are incarcerated.

A more accurate description would not include the prisoners. This would give Houghton County a population of 35,730 with a demographic that is 96% White, 1% Black, and 1% Latino.

Reported in
Census 2000		 Incarcerated
population		 Actual
population
Total 36,016 286 35,730
White 34,402 144 34,258
Black 339 122 217
Latino 251 8 243


Notes:

[1]The numbers for Whites, Blacks and Latinos may not add up to the total number because we have not included racial groups other than Whites and Blacks and because the Census Bureau considers "Latino" to be an ethnicity, not a race. Most of the people reported as being Latino are also counted as being White or Black.



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