Thursday, December 17, 2009

Some Want Census to Count Prisoners in Home Towns

Some African American leaders, worried that minorities will be undercounted in the 2010 Census, are insisting that inmates at federal and state prisons be counted in their home communities rather than the towns where they are incarcerated. In this article in the Washington Post, Marc H. Morial, president of the National Urban League, is reported to claim that "the practice now shortchanges communities in money and democratic representation." The article cites a 2006 report on the issue, Tabulating Prisoners at Their "Permanent Home of Record" Address.

Here are some other resources relevant to the subject:

For additional resources about this subject, take a look at our guide to Census information.
Posted by Salem at 3:46 PM
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2 comments:

  1. Peter Wagner9:35 AM

    There is also a whole website about the prison miscount and prison-based gerrymandering at http://www.prisonersofthecensus.org. There are a couple of responses to the Bureau's 2006 report linked above, including this one we submitted to Congress in advance of the Bureau's own report: Why the Census Bureau can and must start collecting the home addresses of incarcerated people.

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  2. Salem10:06 AM

    Thank you for your comment! This is a very useful resource.

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