Colorado Ended Prison Gerrymandering (HB 1010), which is the Practice of Counting Incarcerated People at their Prison’s Location rather than at their Last Address during Redistricting. This Practice shifts Power from Cities and more Diverse Communities, which suffer the Brunt of Mass Incarceration, to the more White and Rural Areas where Prisons are often Located.
Governor Jared Polis (D), Signed the Bill into Law in recently after the Legislature Passed it in February.
Colorado is Home to the County where the Prison Population Represents the Highest Share of the Overall Population, Crowley County, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.
When the State next Draws its Maps, it will Count Incarcerated People at the Place they Last Lived rather than at their Prison’s Location.
People in Prison “have no real connection to their place of incarceration,” Rep. Kerry Tipper (D-28th District), Sponsored the Bill, “In places like Colorado where you have big rural/urban divides, this is particularly striking. We are simply using people — moving their political power to a place they don’t want to be in and have no connection to.”
This Law addresses Congressional and Legislative Districts, Counting People at their Last Place of Residence will remain Optional for some Forms of Local Redistricting. But Aleks Kajstura, Legal Director of Prison Policy Initiative, said that “as a practical matter prison gerrymandering has been ended on all levels” since “county and school board districts are already required to avoid prison gerrymandering by statute” and “the municipalities that we looked at did the same on their own.”
Lawmakers from Districts that House Prisons Resisted the Reform and Voted Against it.
- Those who represent Crowley County: Senator Larry Crowder (R-35th District) and Representative Richard Holtorf (R-64th District).
- Senator Jerry Sonnenberg (R-1st District), which contains Four Prisons.
- Representative James Wilson (R-60th District) where 6% of the People Counted as living in Wilson’s District are in Prison.
They said having a Prison “in the community … affects the entire community,” so Counting them Elsewhere would “do an injustice to the communities that actually holds those prisons.”
The Bill’s Proponents reply that Politicians from Areas with Prisons do Not Treat Incarcerated People as Constituents. “We spoke to several elected officials who represented large populations of incarcerated people and asked if they had ever held a town hall in a correctional facility,” Tipper and James Coleman, its Lead Sponsors, wrote “No one knew how many inmates were in their district, and only one had ever met with incarcerated individuals in their district.” The Advocacy Organization Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) has Challenged Lawmakers around the Country to Visit a Prison.
In Changing where Incarcerated People are Counted, Colorado will still Not Count their Voices. People in Prison over a Felony Conviction won’t be allowed to Vote, as is mostly the Case in All States but Maine and Vermont. In 2019, Colorado Restored the Right to Vote to All Voting-Age Citizens Not presently in Prison. Taking the Additional Step of Fully Ending Disenfranchisement in Colorado most likely requires a Constitutional Amendment and a Referendum.
“I would support ending disenfranchisement,” said Tipper, calling it a “good thing for people to engage in their government and stay connected to their home communities. The average stay at the Department of Corrections (DOC) is 3 years. We want to ensure folks have something to go back to and staying (or getting) engaged in their community decision-making keeps people connected and motivated.”
Efforts Against Prison Gerrymandering has gained considerable momentum just over the past Two years.
CA - Eliminated
DE - Eliminated
DC - Eliminated
IL - Legislation Introduced
MA - Partial Eliminated
MD - Eliminated
MI - Partial Eliminated
NJ - Legislation Introduced
NV - Waiting for Governor Signature
NY - Eliminated
OR - Partial Eliminated
PA - Legislation Introduced
TN - Partial Eliminated
VA - Partial Eliminated
WA - Eliminated
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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