Delaware lawmakers may not comply with a law they passed last year mandating that state prisoners be counted based on their last known addresses for purposes of drawing new legislative districts.
Currently, incarcerated Delaware residents are counted in the census based on their residence at a state prison or probation center. The census data used for reapportioning legislative districts also includes out-of-state prisoners.
Critics argue this unfairly spikes the population of towns with state correctional facilities.
"I just felt that it was unfair that people who are incarcerated were counted at the places where they were incarcerated at," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Helene Keeley, D-Wilmington West.
But legislative leaders have run into a roadblock they claim they didn't foresee a year ago when the General Assembly passed the law with little dissent or discussion.
Maptitude, the computer software used to redraw House and Senate district boundaries, won't allow the prison populations to be easily split up, said House Majority Leader Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach.
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