February 16, 2010 (New York Times, NPR)
PRISONS, REDISTRICTING AND THE CENSUS
"The Census Bureau struck a blow for electoral fairness recently when it decided to speed up publication of its data on prison populations to ensure it is available for the next round of redistricting. We hope this new data, which will be released in the spring of 2011, will bolster the efforts of reformers who are trying to end prison-based gerrymandering — the cynical practice of drawing legislative districts with populations inflated by inmates who do not have the right to vote and whose actual residences are often far away," states a New York Times editorial.
NPR also highlights the "urban-versus-rural battle" that activists are calling unfair. Peter Wagner of the Prison Policy Initiative speaks to the issue of prisoners not being counted in the communities that they come from.Posted via email from the Un-Official Southwestern PA Re-Entry Coalition Blog
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