Washington, D.C. — Today, Representatives Deborah Ross (NC-02), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), and Emilia Sykes (OH-13) reintroduced the End Prison Gerrymandering Act. This legislation will help ensure equal representation for all by requiring the Census Bureau to count incarcerated people at their last place of residence rather than the prison in which they are held at the time of the Census.
Many states, including North Carolina, have faced criticism for redistricting processes that use prison gerrymandering to give disproportionate representation to rural, conservative voters at the expense of voters in urban areas and communities of color.
“North Carolina has a long history of manipulating voters’ places of residence to produce maps that benefit the party in power, including through prison gerrymandering,” said Congresswoman Ross. “Across the country, we are witnessing unprecedented attempts to rollback voting rights and dilute voters’ voices, particularly voters of color. Now more than ever, we need maps that are fair and ensure every voter can participate fully in our democracy. I’m proud to lead my colleagues in introducing legislation that will end prison gerrymandering at the federal level.”
“Nearly no one would consider the facility in which they’re incarcerated home,” said Rep. Pocan. “The current Prison Gerrymandering practice is wrong, giving undue power to certain regions of the country and to elected officials who do not value their concerns. We must end this practice and count people from where they came and most likely will return to once their sentences are finished. I thank Congresswoman Ross for her leadership on this issue.”
“The practice of prison gerrymandering puts the interests of partisan politicians above the wishes of our communities, using incarcerated Americans as unwilling pawns in the process,” said Congressman Cleaver. “The American people are sick and tired of partisan trickery that undermines the voice of voters, and I’m proud to join Representatives Ross, Sykes, and Pocan to introduce the End Prison Gerrymandering Act to outlaw this damaging practice once and for all.”
“All Americans have a constitutional right to equal representation in their government. That’s why I am proud to co-sponsor the End Prison Gerrymandering Act, which will ensure incarcerated people are fairly counted in the places they call home, in communities where they have ties, family, and friends,” said Rep. Sykes. “This legislation will allow fair and accurate representation for all communities—rural, urban, and suburban— to create a stronger, more representative democracy.”
Every ten years when the Census is conducted, incarcerated people are counted as residents of the places where they are imprisoned rather than the cities and towns they call home. This practice skews the population count and interferes with equal representation in virtually every state.
Bill text is available here.
The bill is cosponsored by Representatives Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Don Beyer (VA-08), Summer Lee (PA-12), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Chuy García (IL-04), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), and Madeleine Dean (PA-04).
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