Our goal is to educate people about Prison Gerrymandering and to end the practice in Michigan.
For the purposes of redistricting, Michigan counts incarcerated people at their place of confinement rather than in their home communities. This counting method is known as Prison Gerrymandering, and it distorts democracy. Prison gerrymandering siphons political power into less-populated rural areas where prisons are located, and away from the urban communities where people would return to.
Learn More
- Watch the documentary Drawing the Line: Inside the Fight to End Prison Gerrymandering from Great Lakes Beacon which explains Prison Gerrymandering in Michigan and features several members of VAAC.
- For more information on prison gerrymandering, read the Prison Policy Initiative’s PRISON GERRYMANDERING PROJECT.
Take Action
- Support Michigan House Bill 4276 and Senate Bill 151, as described in this VAAC posting.
- Share your perspective with the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) as described in this VAAC posting.
- Join our Prison Gerrymandering team, by Contacting VAAC.
See VAAC posts related to Ending Prison Gerrymandering
- Prison Gerrymandering Addressed at MICRC Public Meeting
- End Prison Gerrymandering
- VAAC’s Danny Jones Published in Detroit News on Prison Gerrymandering
- Act now to end Prison Gerrymandering in Michigan legislative redistricting.