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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Chenango County, New York

According to the 2000 Census, Chenango County, New York has a population of 51,401 people. Of those, 50,191 (98%) are White, 422 (1%) are Black, and 548 (1%) are Latino[1]. However, 300 (or 1% of the 51,401 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 Chenango County a population of 51,101 with a demographic that is 98% White, 1% Black, and 1% Latino.

Reported in
Census 2000		 Incarcerated
population		 Actual
population
Total 51,401 300 51,101
White 50,191 133 50,058
Black 422 142 280
Latino 548 76 472


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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