Concord, New Hampshire’s State Capitol, is, like many state capitols, mostly or entirely captured by the government class that accumulates to run the state. This often, if not always, results in a majority center-left constituency and a Democratic majority city government. So, why would they lie about the population to redistrict city wards?
Because they are Democrats.
It has come to my attention that the ward redistricting in the City of Concord involved some curious numbers revolving around the local prison population. For reasons that defy logic, prisoners, regardless of voting eligibility or time served were (or are) counted as part of the census for redistricting.
In 2020, the last time we did a Census, the prison population for the entire state of New Hampshire was reported to me as 2,256. This includes facilities in Manchester, Berlin, the Women’s prison (in Concord), and a women’s halfway house, also in Concord.
The three facilities in Concord are all in different wards, but the 2020 census reported 2,246 souls residing at the Men’s Prison. All but ten of New Hampshire’s entire prison population were counted at a facility with a maximum reported capacity of 1,461 and an operational capacity, per the state DOC, of 1,408.
The census managed to find nearly twice as many inmates at this one men’s prison as it can accommodate, which had to include every “inmate,” including women, in the entire state, but for ten of them.
The result, geographically, looks significant.
Ward 3 Before 2020 Census
Ward 3 After Redistricting
It is my understanding that the Concord City Council was entirely aware of the issue but chose to “not just do nothing,” but happily approved the numbers without much, if any, debate or reconsideration.
One councilor even went wohh hoo!
The obvious question is why?
There is no conceivable explanation to justify the impossible misrepresentation of the Concord Men’s Prison population.
Ward 5 and Ward 2 expanded considerably as a result of this indifference to or approval of blatant census fraud. Hundreds of voters were shifted into each of these districts after they super-populated the men’s prison, and it merits consideration how the political landscape changes as a result.
And as the masked commenter at the City Council meeting observes, including a prison population that can’t vote (please note that some of them can) in election ward redistricting means elected officials only need to reach half the people in the district to win the seat for which all other ward candidates must do twice the work (assuming it’s not a captured Dem vote ghetto and there’s no primary).
I’ve got more on this, but I’ll leave it there for now. But if anyone is thinking about a census do-over, to correct ‘other’ irregularities or deliberate disparities, this warrants it in Concord, New Hampshire.
