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

Newton County, Texas

According to the 2000 Census, Newton County, Texas has a population of 15,072 people. Of those, 11,431 (76%) are White, 3,118 (21%) are Black, and 571 (4%) are Latino[1]. However, 531 (or 4% of the 15,072 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 Newton County a population of 14,541 with a demographic that is 77% White, 20% Black, and 2% Latino.

Reported in
Census 2000		 Incarcerated
population		 Actual
population
Total 15,072 531 14,541
White 11,431 209 11,222
Black 3,118 162 2,956
Latino 571 288 283


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.



Stay Informed


Get the latest updates:



Share on 𝕏 Donate