Prison Population and the US Census

For the first time in census history, the numbers of inmates at prisons will be made available at local and state levels in order to give state governments the opportunity to redraw district lines with or without inmate populations.  Several states are also considering legislation that would require inmates to be counted as part of the population at their last permanent address.  The information provided by the census on prisoner populations could have drastic affects on both rural areas that currently have a greater political pull because of their inmate populations, as well as urban areas, where a large portion of prisoners have a permanent address.  The overall purpose of the newly provided census information is to reduce the amount of prison-based gerrymandering.

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