Here’s one for those of you follow redistricting and census matters. In short, this prison based gerrymandering uses prison population figures as part of the line drawing process for districts where the prisons are located. From the Albany Times Union:
MoreA group of three upstate Democrats whose districts include or are near large prison populations have found themselves pitted against mostly downstate urban senators who want to exclude inmate counts from redistricting, which will start next year.
Concerns by upstate Democrats Bill Stachowski, David Valesky and Darrel Aubertine about the push to end what advocates call prison-based gerrymandering provides an up-close example of how Senate Democrats, who are clinging to power with a 32-30-vote majority, remain split on many issues.
The latest rift opened last week when a coalition of groups rallied behind a bill sponsored by Manhattan Sen. Eric Schneiderman.
The measure would let New York exclude inmate counts from legislative districts when the state conducts its once-a-decade redistricting.
Traditionally, the redistricting, which results in heavy gerrymandering, relies on U.S. Census data for the population counts.
