Stop Prison Gerrymandering Sign-On Statement Signature Request

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We are calling on you for your support on Michigan Senate Bill 494 to end prison gerrymandering.

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STATEMENT:

The Voting Access for All Coalition (VAAC), Voters Not Politicians, the Michigan Collaborative to End Mass Incarceration (MI-CEMI), and our partners encourage support of Michigan Senate Bill 494 to end prison gerrymandering.

SB494 would use a person's pre-incarceration address as their home address for the purpose of establishing voting districts. If passed, Michigan would join 14 states with laws or policies that end prison gerrymandering.

The Prison Gerrymandering Project of the Prison Policy Initiative notes, "The way the Census Bureau counts people in prison creates significant problems for the fairness of our nation’s democracy. When the Census Bureau counts incarcerated people in prison instead of at home, there is a dramatic distortion of representation at local and state levels".

We agree with the findings of the Brennan Center for Justice that, "When states draw districts without reallocating people who are incarcerated, they ignore the reality of the relationship between these individuals and the areas where prisons are located. Lawmakers who represent those areas often do not feel the same responsibility toward people in prison that they do for their other constituents and generally do not inquire about their welfare or represent their interests. Incarcerated individuals have much more meaningful connections to their home communities and the lawmakers who represent those areas, some of whom even perform constituent services on their behalf. But those areas see their representation in legislative bodies diluted, while areas with prisons receive more than their fair share."

We call on our state legislators to ensure fair democratic representation is fully realized across Michigan, particularly for communities most impacted by the criminal legal system, by passing SB494.

Contact: Chuck Warpehoski | Program Director, Michigan Collaborative to End Mass Incarceration | chuckw@mi-cemi.org

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