Prison Gerrymandering (H 7668, S 2304)

When it comes to drawing new voting districts, any individuals incarcerated at the ACI in Cranston on the day the Census worker comes through used to uniformly be recorded, prior to the redistricting process which took place in 2021 and 2022, as living on Howard Avenue at the prison, including individuals awaiting trial or serving misdemeanor sentences who are still allowed to vote but only from their home addresses. As a result, Cranston was overrepresented in the General Assembly, while the districts from where the prisoners hail are underrepresented. As such, we supported legislation which would ensure that this practice is entirely barred during the next redistricting process.