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NewYorkStateSenateMajorityConferenceSenateLegislativeTaskForceonDemographicResearchandApportionment
PublicMeetingDecember7,2010TestimonyofDemosandthePrisonPolicyInitiativeStevenCarbó,SeniorProgramDirector,Demos
OnbehalfofDēmosandthePrisonPolicyInitiative,I’dliketothanktheSenateLegislativeTaskForceonDemographicResearchandApportionmentforthisopportunitytotestifyaboutredistrictingreforminNewYorkState.
 
Dēmosisanational,non-profit,non-partisanpublicpolicy,researchandadvocacyorganizationcommittedtobuildinganAmericawheredemocracyisrobustandinclusive,withhighlevelsofelectoralparticipationandcivicengagement.Thenon-partisan,non-profitPrisonPolicyInitiativeisthenation’spreeminentsourceofinformationontheimpactofmassincarcerationonindividuals,communities,andthenationalwelfare.Overthepastseveralyears,DēmosandthePrisonPolicyInitiativehavebeenworkinginpartnershiptohighlightandputanendtotheinequitiesof“prison-basedgerrymandering”–thepracticeofmiscountingincarceratedindividualsasresidentsoftheirplacesofconfinement,ratherthantheirhomecommunities.Thetestimonyregardingprison-basedgerrymanderingisofferedjointlybyDēmosandPrisonPolicyInitiative.ThesubsequentdiscussionoflegislationonredistrictingcommissionsissubmittedsolelybyDēmos.
Prison-basedgerrymanderinglaw
DemosandPPIcongratulatetheNewYorkSenateandAssemblyforpassageearlierthisyearoflandmarklegislationthatendsprison-basedgerrymanderinginthestate.WiththesignatureofGovernorPaterson,NewYorkjoinedMarylandandDelawareinnolongermiscountingincarceratedindividualsasresidentsoftheirprisonlocalities.ThepriorpracticeviolatedArticleII,Section4oftheNewYorkConstitution,whichclearlystatesthat“nopersonshallbedeemedtohavegainedorlostaresidence,byvirtueofhisorherpresenceorabsence…whileconfinedinanypublicprison.”
 
 
2NewYork’sprison-basedgerrymanderalsoviolatedtheone-person,one-voteprincipleofourrepresentativedemocracy.Legislativedistrictsmustbeofequalpopulationsothatthevoterstrengthofacitizeninonedistrictmatchesthatofacitizeninanother.UsingprisonpopulationstopadthepopulationcountsofdistrictsthatcontainprisonscountsallowedNewYorktodrawprisondistrictswithfeweractualresidents.Thevotingstrengthofeachsuchresidentwasthengreaterthanthatofcitizensindistrictswithoutprisons.Thenewpolicyrestorestheone-person,one-votestandard.ThepreviouspracticealsodilutedthevotingstrengthofurbancommunitiesofcolorinNewYork.Threequartersofour58,000prisonersareAfricanAmericanorLatino.
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Nearly50percentcomefromNewYorkCity.
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Buttheprisonsinwhichtheyaredetainedareconcentratedinpredominatelyrural,whitecounties.Indeed,eachofthe43newstateprisonsbuiltinNewYorksince1976wasbuiltupstate.
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Prison-basedgerrymanderingdiminishedthevotingstrengthoftheAfricanAmericanandLatinocommunitiesfromwhichprisonersweredrawnbyexcludingthesetensofthousandsofitslegalresidentsfromtheirpopulationcounts,whileenhancingthevotingstrengthofdisproportionatelywhitecommunitiesthatcontainprisons.NewYork’snewpolicyremediesthisvotedilution.Withtheendofprison-basedgerrymandering,incarceratedpeoplewillbeproperlycountedasresidentsofthecommunitiesfromwhichtheyweredrawnandwillreturnaftertheirperiodofconfinement.ThepropervotingstrengthofNewYork’surbancommunitiesofcolorwillberestored.Ishouldnotethatthenegativeimpactofprison-basedgerrymanderingwasnotrestrictedtourban,of-colorcommunities.Thevotingstrengthofresidentsinanylegislativedistrictinthestatethatdidnotincludealargeprisonwasdiminishedwhenotherareascoulduseprisonpopulationstoartificiallyswelltheirpopulations.Thirteencountiesandmunicipalitieshadalreadyrecognizedtheinjusticeofprison-basedgerrymanderingandexcludedprisonerswhentheydrewlocallegislativedistricts.Thenewlawendingprison-basedgerrymanderingrequiresthatthatallstatelegislative,countyandmunicipaldistrictsbedrawnonthesame,fairstandard.
 
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UnderCustodyReport:ProfileofInmatePopulationUnderCustodyonJanuary1,2010
,ExecutiveSummary,StateofNewYork,DepartmentofCorrectionalServices,availableathttp://www.docs.state.ny.us/Research/Reports/2010/UnderCustody_Report.pdf.
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Id.
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
FurtherresearchandmethodologydiscussiononImportingConstituents:PrisonersandPoliticalCloutinNewYork 
,PrisonPolicyInitiative,January2005,http://www.prisonpolicy.org/importing/further.html.
 
 
 
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RedistrictingbyCommission
DēmoshasnottakenapositionontheredistrictingcommissionlegislationrecentlyproposedintheNewYorkStateSenate(S.7881A,S.7882A,S.1614B,S.2892,S.6240).However,severalyearsago,DēmosandtheCenterforGovernmentalStudiesinLosAngelesconductedextensiveresearchonredistrictingcommissionsthenunderconsiderationinCaliforniaandelsewhere.
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Mindfulofthecentralrolethatredistrictingplaysinthevitalityofourdemocracy,wedevelopedthefollowingsetofpublicinterestgoalsthatanyapportionmentcommissionsshouldaddressindrawingdistrictboundaries.Dēmos’2006testimonybeforeajointhearingoftheNewYorkAssemblyStandingCommitteeonGovernmentOperationandtheAssemblyLegislativeTaskforonDemographicResearchandApportionmentwaspremisedupontheseprinciples.
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1.PoliticalEqualityandMinorityRepresentation.Everycitizenhastherighttofairandadequaterepresentation,withparticularattentiontocommunitieshistoricallyunderrepresentedinthepoliticalprocessandtodefinedcommunitiesofinterest.2.ApportionmentCriteria.Thosewhoredistrictshouldbeguidedbyaproperlybalancedofsetofapportionmentcriteriathatpromotefairnessandadvancethepublicinterest.3.PublicConfidence.Apportionmentshouldbeundertakeninamannerthatelicitsfullpublicconfidenceinthefairnessandopennessoftheprocess,withtransparencyintheproceedingsofthedecision-makers,strongprovisionsforsolicitationandreceiptofpublicinput,openmeetings,thepublicationofdataanddocumentationandaccessiblepublichearingsthroughoutthestate.4.PartisanFairness.Apportionmentshouldproceedthroughaneutral,unbiasedprocessthataimstoensurethatneithermajorpartywouldbenefitunfairlyunderanadoptedredistrictingplan.5.VoterChoiceandGovernmentAccountability.Apportionmentshouldresultinoptimalvoterchoiceincandidatesandtheabilityoftheelectoratetoholdthegovernmentaccountable.
 
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Re-DrawingLines:APublicInterestAnalysisofCalifornia’s2006RedistrictingReformProposals
,DemosandtheCenterforGovernmentalStudies(2006),http://www.cgs.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=91:PUBLICATIONS&catid=39:all_pubs&Itemid=72.
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AssemblyStandingCommitteeonGovernmentOperations,AssemblyLegislativeTaskForceonDemographicResearchandApportionment,PublicHearing,October17,2006,TestimonyofStevenCarbó,availableonrequestatDēmos.
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