Prison gerrymandering is the practice of counting incarcerated people as residents of the county in which the prison is located, instead of counting them as residents of the city they come from. This practice conflates population counts in predominantly white, rural areas where prisons are located, thus providing access to more resources and funding, while limiting that access from predominantly black, urban communities where people will be returning upon release.

Legislation has been introduced to end prison gerrymandering in Michigan. House Bill 4276, introduced by State Representative Sarah Anthony, and Senate Bill 151, introduced by State Senator Sylvia Santana, would require that people incarcerated be counted at their address prior to incarceration, and not counted where they are currently incarcerated.

Please click the button below to reach out to YOUR state representatives and let them know that you support these bills to end prison gerrymandering. It takes less than two minutes to make a difference.

For more information on how prison gerrymandering undermines fair representation, please watch the recording of our Facebook event viewing the documentary Drawing the Line from Great Lakes Beacon followed by a panel discussion.