Prison Gerrymandering is the practice of skewing voter leverage through how incarcerated populations are counted in voting districts. Our goal is to make elections more fair by counting people in their home district even if they are held in a prison in another district, so that their voice and their representation attach to their communities. See posts and articles about our progress.
The Redistricting Data Hub (RDH) is pleased to announce two new trainings on Prison Gerrymandering, in partnership with Brianna Remster and Rory Kramer of Villanova University. These trainings are inspired in part by their research on the process of reallocating incarcerated populations in Pennsylvania. They are currently extending that work …
In December of 2021 when the Michigan Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission (MICRC) was deciding how to redraw the legislative district maps for Michigan, this story and video appeared on WLNS.com. It features an interview with VAAC’s Chairperson, Danny Jones. Watch it here or read the article below. Have you ever …
EMU is hosting a screening of Drawing the Line: Inside the Fight to End Prison Gerrymandering, followed by a roundtable discussion.
In Bridge Magazine, Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans writes about how incarcerated people, many of them Black and Brown, are being disenfranchised by the state’s redistricting commission. Click below to read the article.
This article was submitted by VAAC member Nomi Joyrich of the Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice who worked tirelessly to ensure fair maps. From Nomi “I want to thank everyone who made a public comment, testified or sent an email to the MICRC. Every commissioner stated that input from citizens …
Over the past few months many VAAC members have attended MICRC meetings in person and remotely, and submitted many, many written comments. Thank you for the #good trouble you made! During this final week of public testimony, a dozen+ VAAC members spoke out on behalf of VAAC and coalition partners about …
On October 24, 2021, Rory Kramer, PhD and Brianna Remster, PhD of Villanova University submitted written testimony to the Michigan Independent Citizen’s Redistricting Commission (MICRC) advocating against prison gerrymandering in Michigan. VAAC is very grateful to these scientists for their efforts on behalf of fair maps in Michigan. As social …
On October 2, 2021, the Detroit Free Press published an article by Miriam Marini with the headline “Advocates push for inmates to be counted at their home addresses as redistricting ensues.” The well-written article does a deep dive into the issue and quotes VAAC chairperson, Danny Jones, as well as …
Danny Jones, chairperson of the Voting Access for All Coalition, speaks from personal experience in a recent opinion article in the Detroit News, describing the harmful practice of prison gerrymandering: counting prisoners as residents of districts where they are imprisoned, even though they have no ties to that community, likely call a different district home, and are not even allowed to vote.
