WHYY: Aaron Moselle | June 16, 2022
In an effort to tackle a phenomenon known as “prison gerrymandering,” Philadelphia will now count state and county prisoners as residents of their home districts instead of the facilities where they are incarcerated.
Under legislation passed by City Council on Thursday, nearly 7,800 incarcerated people will be reapportioned into the city’s 10 Council districts based on each person’s last known address during the 2020 census.
The plan, introduced by Council President Darrell Clarke and backed by the Kenney administration, means that the population of each district will increase by between roughly 500 and 1,500 residents. The changes will be reflected in a revised Council map, but are small enough that the district boundary lines approved in February do not need to be redrawn.
Each Council district will now average 161,000 residents.
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