Prison populations boost the representation of the towns where they’re located. This decreases the power of prisoners’ domestic communities,which need it moreOne person equals one vote: seems simple enough. Unfortunately, that hasn’t worked out for many Americans throughout history, or specifically women and people of color. There is a long tradition of denying women,people with low incomes and people of color their vote in America, most recently in the form of a poll tax that, and in an increasing number of states,requires a state-issued photo ID in order to vote. The situation can seem insurmountable.
But there is something President Obama can do, suitable now, and that could make enormous strides towards fixing one aspect of longstanding disenfranchisement. We could end the practice of prison gerrymandering,or including prisoners in the US census where they are imprisoned rather than where they lived before incarceration.
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Source: theguardian.com