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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Manistee County, Michigan

According to the 2000 Census, Manistee County, Michigan has a population of 24,527 people. Of those, 23,095 (94%) are White, 399 (2%) are Black, and 639 (3%) are Latino[1]. However, 756 (or 3% of the 24,527 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 Manistee County a population of 23,771 with a demographic that is 96% White, 0% Black, and 3% Latino.

Reported in
Census 2000		 Incarcerated
population		 Actual
population
Total 24,527 756 23,771
White 23,095 296 22,799
Black 399 342 57
Latino 639 44 595


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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