LDF urges Rhode Island to end prison based gerrymandering, the practice of counting incarcerated people as residents of the prison facilities where they are held rather than at their pre-arrest home communities for purposes of redistricting. Pending legislation to end prison-based gerrymandering in Rhode Island will help bring the state’s redistricting process into greater conformity with the fundamental principles of an inclusive democracy. Rhode Island has the opportunity to join other leading states like New York, Maryland, and Delaware in passing legislation to end prison-based gerrymandering and ensure that all individuals in Rhode Island are represented equally in the political process, and that the voting strength of minority communities is not diluted.
