Under legislation proposed by Senator Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit), a person would be counted by their pre-incarceration address, not the address of the prison, during a population count.
Key Points:
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- The Department of Corrections would collect a person’s pre-incarceration address and demographic data and provide that to the Secretary of State (SOS).
- Using geographic data from the U.S. Census, the SOS would change an individual’s geographic unit from where the prison is located to align with their pre-incarceration address.
- The SOS would present the information to the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, which would use that information during the redistricting process.
- Since political districts are based on population, supporters believe this is a fairer way to redraw lines.
Next Steps:
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- The bill was referred to the Senate Elections and Ethics Committee for consideration.