Join us for a conversation on prison gerrymandering, a practice that distorts our democratic process and dilutes the political power of communities across the nation. In this discussion, we'll examine how the current method of counting incarcerated people for representational purposes, often in rural, non-resident districts, allows for the manipulation of political power.
We'll be joined by: Joanna McClinton, representative for the 191st district and Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives; Tim Ford, partner, political & election law group chair, and election law committee chair at Dilworth Paxson LLP; Carol Kuniholm, Ph.D., co-founder and chair of Fair Districts PA; Andrew McGinley, Vice President of External Affairs for the Committee of Seventy; and Briana Remster, Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Villanova University. Together, we will explore the history and mechanics of prison gerrymandering, highlighting how it essentially exports the population, and thus the political influence, of urban and largely minority communities to boost the political power of the primarily white, rural areas where prisons are located. Moderated by Kerry Sautner, president & CEO of Eastern State, this conversation will feature leading voices in electoral justice and carceral reform. Together, they will unpack the true state of representative democracy when a population's physical location misrepresents the people.
