Speaker Coughlin Statement on Law to Count NJ’s Incarcerated Based on Home Address for Congressional Redistricting

(TRENTON) – Encouraged by legislation signed into law on Friday to count people in New Jersey who are incarcerated using their home address rather than the address of the correctional facility in which they are housed, for the purpose of congressional redistricting, Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin (D-Middlesex) issued the following statement:

“Justice in representation has long been an issue with which our communities of color have contended, and so how we count people matters.

“As New Jersey prepares to draw new districts determining who represents us in Washington, on town councils, and on some regional school boards over the next decade, today’s bill signing is significant. Elected representatives should represent the people who make up their communities.

“The leadership of our Legislative Black Caucus and Legislative Latino Caucus has been instrumental to moving New Jersey forward on issues of social justice, and I particularly thank Assemblywoman Sumter for her sponsorship of the bill.”     

Earlier this year, New Jersey enacted a new law to count people in New Jersey who are incarcerated in the legislative redistricting process on the basis of their residential address. This law serves to complement the State’s earlier action, bringing the counting of this population for municipal, county, and congressional redistricting into alignment with how the population is counted for legislative redistricting.