Common Cause Connecticut

     

CCCT Executive Director Cheri Quickmire and

Former State Representative Bill Dyson     

                                                

One Person One Vote                                                                                                                      

Common Cause in Connecticut is working with other concerned citizens around the state to end prison-based gerrymandering. Democracy in the United States works on the principle that political power is distributed by population. Legislative districts are drawn to ensure that the roughly the same number of people reside in each district, so that representation in the State House is equal. Every ten years, after the U.S. Census, Connecticut re-evaluates its legislative districts to make sure that this is the case. Drawing districts which contain the same number of people makes sure that all residents have the same access to government and political power.

 

  

Connecticut’s Problem:

 

            • People incarcerated in Connecticut overwhelmingly come from the state’s cities, but they are counted for the U.S. Census as part of the community in which they are incarcerated.

 

            • Each Assembly District in Connecticut is supposed to contain about 22,553 people. Counting the prison population as members of a community that contains the prison boosts the population of that district and gives it more political clout.

 

            • Seven Assembly Districts in Connecticut would be 5% short of the 22,553 resident requirement if the prison population in those districts were not counted.

 

            • Connecticut law clearly states that prison cells may not be counted as residences (General Statutes of Connecticut 9-14).

 

Possible Solutions:

 

            • The state of Connecticut should establish a practice of counting people who are incarcerated in their residences, not in prison cells. This can be accomplished by passing legislation to require that prisons give the demographic data collected to the state prior to redistricting.

 

Common Cause supports reforms such as creating independent commissions to conduct redistricting, establishing criteria for how districts must be drawn, requiring a fair and transparent process for conducting redistricting, and creating “shadow” commissions to present their own recommendations.

 

            • The town of Enfield has already taken steps to address this problem and rejects the Census Bureau’s data for municipal redistricting purposes. Enfield’s population would increase by 30% if it counted people who are incarcerated! All Connecticut towns which contain prisons should follow Enfield’s example.      

 

Common Cause in Connecticut is committed to fighting to end the practice or counting prisoners as residents of their cell block instead of their homes. Connecticut law, like other states, does not recognize a prison as a legal residence. Neither should our redistricting process.

 

For more information on Prison-Based Gerrymandering in Connecticut, see the Prison Policy Initiative’s Connecticut report and their Connecticut Campaign page for updates.

 

Success in Other States:

 

Maryland is a shining example of taking action to preserve Democracy! Legislation was recently passed in Maryland that requires the state to collect home addresses for prisoners that were counted in prison by the Census Bureau. The state will use this information to adjust the Census date for redistricting. 

 

Press Coverage:

 

Phantom Voters: Why the state should stop "prison gerry mandering  by Betsy Yagla, New Haven Advocate, March 31 2010 
 

Activists to Legislature: Ignore Skewed Prison Data in Census  by Chase Carnot, CT News Junkie, April 14, 2010