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Lawmakers hear bill to end prison gerrymandering; advocates urge counting incarcerated people at home addresses
Summary
House Bill 5538 would end prison gerrymandering by counting incarcerated people at their home addresses for redistricting; the Division of Statewide Planning told lawmakers it can perform the reassignments with minimal administrative cost.
Representative Cruz introduced House Bill 5538, a measure intended to end the practice commonly known as prison gerrymandering by counting people who are incarcerated at their home addresses for redistricting purposes rather than at the prison location.
Cruz told the committee the practice inflates political clout for districts that host prisons and dilutes representation elsewhere; Rhode Island’s unified prison…
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