[EL] FW: Sign-on letter to Census for research to end prison-based gerrymandering

[Sean Parnell]

I thought some of you on the list might be interested in the following
request I recently received from an organization that is working to end what
it calls 'prison gerrymandering,' the process whereby incarcerated persons
are considered to be residents of the place they are incarcerated, rather
than their home communities. This leads to some odd outcomes (in my view)
including state legislative and municipal districts where most persons can't
vote (at one point in Iowa, there was a city council district that had 4
legal voters and hundreds of incarcerated persons). 

 

More below, they are looking for people and organizations to sign a letter
to the Census Bureau to change the way they count incarcerated persons. A
worthy cause, IMHO.

 

Best,

 

Sean Parnell

President

Impact Policy Management, LLC

6411 Caleb Court

Alexandria, VA  22315

571-289-1374 (c)

sean at impactpolicymanagement.com

 

From: Peter Wagner [mailto:pwagner at prisonpolicy.org] 
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2013 11:19 AM
To: Sean Parnell
Subject: Sign-on letter to Census for research to end prison-based
gerrymandering 

 

Hi Sean,

 

Efforts have been underway for more than a decade to encourage the Census
Bureau to change its current practice of tabulating incarcerated people as
"residents" of the prison, and tabulate them instead in their home
communities, which remain their legal residence for virtually all other
purposes under state law. The Census Bureau's current practice of tabulating
incarcerated people at prison locations skews state and local electoral
redistricting, undermining the constitutional principle of "one person, one
vote."

 

Even though the next census is seven years away, right now the Bureau is
researching the best way to conduct the 2020 Census so it can develop
operational plans later in the decade. In order to ensure that incarcerated
people are counted at home in the 2020 Census, we need to send a strong
message to influence this planning process now. The Bureau must hear from
organizations like yours to ensure that improving how and where it tabulates
incarcerated people is a research priority.

 

To read and sign on to the letter, or to review a brief summary with some
additional background information, please visit:
http://www.prisonersofthecensus.org/sign/ . Or, if you would prefer, you can
sign on via reply email to me listing how you would like your organization
to appear. We are planning to submit the letter in early February, so we are
looking to get all of the signatures by February 6th.

 

And of course, feel free to share with your networks or to call me at (413)
961-0002 if you have any questions. 

 

Thank you in advance for your support!

 

-Peter

--
Peter Wagner
Executive Director
Prison Policy Initiative
http://www.prisonpolicy.org <http://www.prisonpolicy.org/> 
http://PrisonersoftheCensus.org <http://PrisonersoftheCensus.org/> 
Do you receive our weekly newsletter?
http://prisonersofthecensus.org/subscribe/

 

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