Cumberland Times-News

Opinion

April 20, 2010

Prison population has no effect on census-related funding

— Your conclusions presented in the recent editorial, “No Surprise: Here’s why lawmakers voted for census change” (April 1), are based on an (unfortunately) commonly-held but false assumption.

The bill currently pending in the Maryland Legislature that would change the way prisoners are counted in the state for redistricting purposes would have no impact on federal funding.

The census is still going to count prisoners at the prison, the bill simply changes the way that census data would be used when drawing district lines within Maryland. The federal government does not distribute funds based on state redistricting data.

Aleks Kajstura, legal director

Prison Policy Initiative

Northampton, Mass.

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