Prison-policy study shows how inmate counts yield redistricting clout

[ccharles000]

What a thing to throw at a county administrator on his first week on the job: One of the Waseca County Board's districts is perhaps the worst example of local prison gerrymandering in Minnesota.

A Prison Policy Initiative study released today finds that Waseca County Board's District 5 gets 24 percent of its population from a federal prison housing 943 inmates. Even though prisoners can't vote, the result is that each group of 76 people in District 5 has "as much political clout as 100 people elsewhere," according to the study.

Todd Bodem, who became county administrator on March 3, said he needs time to research the issue before he can comment. I can't blame him. This is complex stuff for anyone who isn't obsessed with the 2010 census, redistricting, voting and constitutional law. I sent him my Feb. 25 story on the issue.

http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2010/03/09/16535/prison-policy_study_shows_how_inmate_counts_yield_redistricting_clout