Reply #2: This will HELP Democrats -- re-read the article

[Dogmudgeon]

It will generally work the other way around.

...

Previously, the agency provided the breakdowns on group quarters, like prisons, after states finished their high-stakes redistricting. That resulted in districts with prisons getting extra representation in their legislatures, despite laws in some states that say a prison cell is not a residence.

Now that the prison data is being made available earlier, states can decide whether they want to count inmates for purposes of redistricting and, if so, where they should be considered residents — in rural towns, where prisons are often built, or cities, where many prisoners came from.

Census director Robert Groves made the decision after weeks of discussion with Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., and with public interest and black groups. They called it an important first step toward shifting federal resources and representation back to urban communities, where they believe the aid is needed the most.

"For too long, communities with large prisons have received greater representation in government on the backs of people who have no voting rights in the prison community," said Brenda Wright, director of the Democracy Program at Demos, a research and advocacy organization. "The Census Bureau's new data will greatly assist states and localities in correcting this injustice."

...

Many if not most prison towns will LOSE their extra political weight.

--d!