Judge: Cranston Violated Constitution by Counting Inmates in Gerrymandered Districts

CRANSTON, RI—In a ruling that will reverberate across the country, U.S. District Judge Ronald Lagueux today ruled that Cranston violated the one-person, one-vote requirement of the Constitution by way of "prison gerrymandering" to count inmates at the state prison as residents of Ward 6.

The decision comes after the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sued the city on behalf of a group of residents who said they were the victims of disenfranchisement due to the inflated voting power of Ward 6. The city now has 30 days to present the court with a new restricting plan to meet constitutional requirements.

“I’m thrilled that our fight for equal representation has been successful,” said Karen Davidson, lead plaintiff. “Fairness in redistricting is a fundamental right and I’m glad that the court has vindicated our claims."

Without the incarcerated population, Ward 6 has only 10,209 true constituents. Yet those constituents now wield the same political power as the roughly 13,500 constituents in each of the other ward, the lawsuit alleged.

“This is a big win for democracy,” said Adam Lioz of Demos, counsel for the plaintiffs. “Prison gerrymandering distorts representation and should no longer be tolerated. This decision should pave the way for other courts to address this long-standing problem.”

Judge Lagueux agreed with the plaintiffs’ claims, stating that “the ACI’s inmates lack a ‘representational nexus’ with the Cranston City Council and School Committee.” He noted that “Cranston’s elected officials do not campaign or endeavor to represent their ACI constituents,” and pointed out that that the majority of incarcerated persons cannot vote, and those who can are required by law to vote by absentee ballot from their pre-incarceration address.

RIACLU Executive Director Steven Brown said the ACLU testified before the City Council and warned them they could be in violation of the one person-one vote principle in 2012.

READ: THE FULL RULING