Prison Gerrymandering: How One Count Leads to a Decade of Distortion

Prison gerrymandering is the distortion to representation that occurs when voting maps are drawn using Census numbers that count incarcerated individuals where they are temporarily displaced instead of their home communities. Prison gerrymandering can happen in redistricting processes for states, cities, school boards, or other local governments. It is most consequential at the local level where districts are smaller in population and each person makes up a bigger share.

Below is a toolkit to help folks understand how prison gerrymandering is harmful to our democracy.