Oct. 31, 2007
Issue Summary.
Prison inmates are stripped of the right to vote in all but two states. But state lawmakers often treat them as "residents" of their prisons when drawing legislative maps, to help under-populated districts raise their numbers. That shifts political influence from the densely populated urban districts where inmates actually live to the sparsely settled rural areas where prisons are typically built.
Section 4 of article II
of the NYS Constitution provides in pertinent part as follows:
"For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to
have gained or lost a residence...while confined in any public prison."
Likewise, subdivision 5-1 of section 5-104 of the NYS Election Law provides
in pertinent part as follows: "For the purpose of
registering and voting no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a
residence...while confined in any public prison."
Despite these unequivocal provisions, many incarcerated persons in NYS are being
classified for purposes of residency as residents of their places of
incarceration rather than as residents of their places of residence prior
to incarceration.
Coalition Position.
The methods of NYS
districting must comply with the NYS Constitution and NYS Election Law.
Incarcerated persons in NYS must be counted, for re-districting purposes, in
the creation of congressional, NYS Assembly, NYS Senate, and NYS county
legislative districts, in their home locations prior to incarceration.
Immediate steps should be taken to achieve this.
The NY State Board
of Elections should prepare and disseminate appropriate population counts,
adjusted so that incarcerated persons are no longer included in any
geographic area in violation of the NYS Constitution.
The NYS Legislative
Task Force on reapportionment should use such information in the creation of
all legislative districts.
On the national
scene, where many other states have similar problems, the U.S. Census Bureau
has a crucial role to play in putting an end to this despicable practice.
The 2010 census is now the time for them to get started.
Rationale.
Counting prisoners as residents, despite the fact that they can't vote or participate in the communities where they are incarcerated, leads to unequal distributions of political power.
A case in point, most of New York State's prisoners are from New York City, but 91% of the state's prison cells are upstate. As a result, more than half of the state's prisoners get credited to six upstate senate districts; districts with seats on the influential crime committees. Most states, including New York, bar prisoners from voting, so prisoners are unable to influence the legislators who "represent" them. As a result, this counting glitch allows prison town legislators to exploit the prison population to unfairly enhance their political clout.
A summary of all 12 planks can be found at Summary
Please indicate your support of this platform by signing the Petition.
Help in sending an email to NYS legislators supporting this plank is at Support.