Redistricting (H 7323A, S 2162A)

Throughout the redistricting process – by which legislative districts are redrawn in Rhode Island every ten years – our organization has been vigilantly defending the need to simultaneously address the issue of prison gerrymandering, which counts incarcerated individuals at the state correctional institution as residents of the institution’s district, rather than as residents of their home districts. While the redistricting commission recognized this issue, and reallocated to their home communities approximately 41% of the incarcerated population, specifically those individuals who were serving sentences of two years or less, we urged that language be added to this redistricting bill to affirmatively bar this practice for the next reapportionment in 2030. Unfortunately, this bill was considered without this language, and we will instead be pressing for the passage of separate legislation to accomplish this goal.