How ‘Prison Gerrymandering’ Boosts Texas Republicans

Dallas Morning News: “Nearly a quarter of a million people were incarcerated in Texas when the Census was taken last year. When lawmakers redrew the state’s voting maps this fall, these inmates were counted in the prison towns where they were locked up, rather than where they lived beforehand.”

“A Dallas Morning News analysis of Census and prison data found this practice, which opponents call ‘prison gerrymandering,’ inflates the political power of Republican districts while draining clout from Democratic strongholds. It also makes more conservative, rural areas of the state look larger and more diverse than they truly are.”