Prison-Based Gerrymandering

Even if their sentence ends today, the census still counts them as residents of the town or city where they were imprisoned on April 1 – not as residents of the communities where they lived before going to prison and to which they are most likely to return.

Perhaps by 2020, the federal government will affirm its commitment to one person, one vote and finally recognize that a prison cell is not a residence. Until then, state legislatures, including New York’s, must do what they can to correct the count.

Since 1976, all 43 new prisons in New York have been built in rural, largely white upstate communities. Furthermore, when the last round of redistricting happened in 2002, 7 upstate districts would not have met minimum population requirements if the prison population hadn’t been added to those districts. To add to the conscious practice of injustice, the redistricting in 2002 led to 2 chairs of criminal justice committees “representing” 17% of the state’s incarcerated persons. Senators Volker and Nozzolio have, unsurprisingly, been strong proponents of the dated and draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws, which mandate disproportionally long sentences for minor drug offenses.

Although 80% of the people incarcerated in New York are Black or Latino, 98% are incarcerated in districts that are disproportionally white. Do Senators Volker and Nozzolio really work for the betterment of the incarcerated population in their districts?–or just use their numbers to pad their districts population numbers at the expense of the home communities of those who are incarcerated?  Do they really work to ensure the fair and careful treatment and rehabilitation of New York citizens that cannot vote?–or have median incarceration times of less than 26 months?

Scholars agree that the Rockefeller Drug Laws did not just happen to result in high minority incarceration.

Our democracy is built on representation – equal representation. Prison-based gerrymandering results in representation without population to back it up. It’s not fair to any New Yorker.

The New York State Constitution is very clear. Incarceration does not change one’s residence. It’s time to restore ‘one person, one vote’ in New York. It’s time to pass S6725/A9834.

Senate District 45 - Graphic from the Prison Policy Initiative (http://prisonpolicy.org)

First some data:

Average population of a NY Senate District-306,072

State Senate District 45:

Census Population-299,603

Incarcerated Population-14,161

Resident Population-285,442

State and Federal Prisons-13

State Senate District 45 has the largest incarcerated population in New York, and this status began because former Senator Ronald Stafford rose to become the chair of the Finance Committee. Son of a correctional officer, he used his chairmanship to direct funds into his district for prison construction. In violation of our state’s constitution and the Supreme Court, Stafford prison-gerrymandered the make-up of his district–with democratic distortions that affect the entire state.

The voting population of all legislative districts must be as equal as possible. When people are counted as residents of a district that are so vastly different from their home communities, both districts suffer, as does everyone seeking fair and equal representation.

Essex County, one of the 6 counties in District 45, has passed a law against the use of prison-based Census data:

Persons incarcerated in state and federal correctional institutions live in a separate environment, do not participate int he life of Essex County and do not affect the social and economic character of the towns…The inclusion of these federal and state correctional inmates unfairly dilutes the votes or voting weight of persons residing in other towns within Essex County…

Essex County is one of 13 counties with prisons to adjust their population data they get from the Census for the purposes of redistricting.

Americans are strong proponents of fair, equal voting practices. Let us educate our friends and neighbors so they understand the effects of prison-based gerrymandering.

The New York State Constitution

Currently, several State Senate districts that host prisons are drawn based on inflated population numbers. This creates a heavy cost and detriment to fair representation. Furthermore, the current practice violates the Supreme Court’s ruling that districts must be drawn so that they represent an equal number of citizens.

Both the Supreme Court ruling and our State Constitution recognize the dangers of drawing legislative districts based on undemocratic contortions of Census data. Voters in other districts across the state see their representation diluted. In other words, their votes basically carry less weight, and less political power.

Allow me to draw an example that is commonly found in states that allow prison-based gerrymandering:

A city-council race is won by just a handful of votes.  Examining the voting data and the “city” population, we notice   that this “city’s” prison population is far higher than those not in prisons. With people in prison not having the right to vote while incarcerated, this “city’s” elections are determined by a far smaller number of citizens than a city of comparable population. The effect can be carried to the county and both state and federal legislative districts.

To cite an actual case, a candidate in Anamosa, Iowa won election to the “City” Council with a total of only two votes–from his wife and a neighbor! Guess what?: 1,300 of the 1,400 persons constituting the “City” Council district were incarcerated at Iowa’s largest penitentiary. So really only 100 people determined this “City” Council district.

In essence, the votes of members of this “City” Council district carry much more weight in proportion to other City Council districts in Iowa. What we have is a conscious decision to violate the principle of “one person, one vote” that ensures equal voting power.