Prison-Based Gerrymandering (H 7090, S 2218)

When it comes to drawing new voting district lines, any individuals incarcerated at the ACI in Cranston on the day the Census worker comes are counted as living at the ACI – including individuals there for a few days on pretrial detention, individuals serving short sentences, and individuals who will be incarcerated for several years.  Many of these prisoners are not residents of Cranston and cannot vote in Cranston after their release from the ACI, yet the districts are drawn as if they could; Cranston is therefore overrepresented in the General Assembly while the districts from where the prisoners come are underrepresented.  In fact, under the new redistricting plan adopted this year, 15 percent of House District 20 is comprised of prisoners who likely cannot vote in Cranston.  Legislation sought to restore representation in Rhode Island to “one person, one vote” by requiring that, for the purposes of redistricting, prisoners are identified as living at their last known address. Unfortunately, this bill failed to move out of committee this year.