Daily Courier-Observer
Malone, NY
http://www.mpcourier.com/article/20100130/DCO01/301309916/-1/dco
By Darcy Fargo
MALONE – Franklin County’s two state representatives say an effort to change how the state’s prisoners are counted when drawing legislative districts is yet another attempt to bring more governing power downstate.
According to the Associated Press, state Sen. Eric T. Schneiderman, D-Manhattan, and Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, D-Brooklyn, said Thursday they are supporting a statewide attempt to push passage of legislation requiring prisoners be counted as living in their home communities, not at prisons.
Currently, New York uses numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau to draw districts. The Census counts prisoners where they are incarcerated. Critics say that method distorts political representation in urban communities where most convicted felons are from.
“I think it’s another effort to try to decrease the number of rural legislators and increase the number representing the city,” said Assemblywoman Janet Duprey, R-Peru. “That’s already a problem. Certainly, I’m not going to support any legislation with that aim.”
The office of state Sen. Elizabeth “Betty” Little, R-Queensbury, agreed.
“Downstate politicians have argued for years that prisoners should be counted as residents of the districts in which they formally resided,” Daniel E. MacEntee, Little’s director of communications, said. “They would prefer to have those folks, who may be serving five, 10, 15 (year) or life sentences, be counted as residents of where they lived prior to incarceration. Doing so would shift more power, resources and representation to their districts. The U.S. Census Bureau determines where people of counted, not the State Legislature. Since 1790, the usual residence standard has been used and the bureau has determined, after a lengthy study, that this is the best way to ensure an accurate count.”
MacEntee said upstate may benefit from the added inmate population resulting from the method used to count population for Census purposes, while downstate areas likely benefit in other ways.
“Illegal immigrants are counted where they live on the day of the Census, like prisoners, like college students, like nursing home residents and like, well, you and me,” he said. “So, when the State Senate lines are redrawn in 2012, it will be based on population count, including illegal immigrants.
“The proponents of the prison bill will argue that counting prisoners artificially inflates the population of upstate districts where the prisons are located. Some might argue that counting illegal immigrants inflates the representation of downstate districts.
According to the Assembly version of the bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Jeffries, the proposed law is meant to bring the state1s method of counting population into compliance with the state Constitution.
“The New York State Constitution states that ‘for the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence… while confined to any public prison,’ says Assembly bill A09380. “Under this clause, the current practice of classifying incarcerated persons as residents of their place of incarceration, rather than residents of their place of residence prior to incarceration is in fact unconstitutional.”
Sen. Schneiderman and Assemblyman Jeffries, along with the Rev. Al Sharpton, announced a campaign to push bills supporting the population count change on Thursday. The trio said it plans to work with a statewide coalition to advocate for the bill.
According to information posted on Sen. Schneiderman’s Web site, the new coalition includes Citizen Action of New York, The Public Policy and Education Fund, The Prison Policy Initiative, New York Civil Liberties Union, Demos, Common Cause, the Brennan Center for Justice, Fortune Society, Bronx Defenders, Praxis Project, Correctional Association of New York, Community Service Society, New York City AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN), Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Center for Law & Social Justice, Nu Leadership Policy Group, Prison Families of New York and Exponents.
According to the AP, there are nearly 60,000 inmates in 67 state prisons. The majority were convicted of crimes in New York City.
