A federal judge heard arguments Wednesday in a case that could affect whether prisoners are counted in drawing voting districts in Florida, an issue that affects voting power particularly in rural areas of the state. The American Civil Liberties Union and several Jefferson County residents charge the county used “prison-based gerrymandering” in drawing its five county commission and school board districts, each with about 2,950 residents. The county, with a non-prison population of 13,604 in the 2010 census, counted 1,157 Jefferson Correctional Institute inmates in one district, where they’re more than a third of the population. That gave the eligible voters in the district almost twice the voting power of others in the county, the ACLU says. County residents involved in the lawsuit say it also cut minority voting power.
County officials responded that by law they must use U.S. census counts, which include prisoners, in drawing districts and cited a 2001 Florida attorney general’s office opinion.
ACLU lawyers said state law isn’t specific on the issue and seven counties have chosen not to count prisoners in drawing districts.
The county commissioner from the affected district, Hines Boyd, is white, but the school board member, Chairman Shirley Washington, is black and said she has represented the district for 18 years. Washington said her district is mostly white, but would be evenly split racially under a plan that didn’t include prisoners.
With blacks making up about a third of the county’s voting age population, it has one black commissioner out of five, and two black school board members out of five.
Full Article: Group challenges inclusion of prisoners in voting districts – Jackson County Floridan : Politics.