An Assembly committee passed a constitutional amendment which discounts the number of incarcerated felons in a district in census figures for electoral districting.

Currently, incarcerated felons are counted towards establishing district totals, however, they are not allowed to vote. Since voting districts are based on population, supporters of the bill are worried that the electorate in districts with a large prison population are having their votes count for more.

The amendment was passed by a vote of 4-3.

In the view of the amendment author, Rep. Fred Kessler, D-Milwaukee, this change is a necessity.

“It’s just not fair to count people who don’t pay taxes, don’t vote and aren’t being represented by those elected towards district size,” Kessler said.

According to Kessler, the resolution would have the biggest impact in Wisconsin’s 53rd district, where approximately 10 percent of the district’s population is incarcerated.

Some, like Executive Director of the Wisconsin Democracy campaign Mike McCabe, are concerned that Wisconsin’s current system could also decrease the influence of voters in other areas.

“When you have a bigger population, you have a bigger voice. This is about fairness to the areas that have voting citizens who need representation,” McCabe said.

While many are in favor of such a change, others, like Wisconsin League of Women Voters Executive Director Andrea Kaminski, think that counting inmates as residents of the district where their home is located would be a better idea than not counting them at all.

However, with it being too late to change the current census, Kaminski said this could be an important step in insuring the rights of not only voters, but also of the incarcerated.

“This is an example of our prison population being used for a distortion in importance of certain individuals’ votes,” Kaminski said

Despite support, Rep. Donald Pridemore, R- Hartford, voted against the bill because he said he believes the only effect the bill will have is in affecting more rural and typically Republican districts, and could impact election results.

“They’re just trying to push through as many partisan laws as they can. I don’t think this will really solve any problems,” Pridemore said.

However, Kessler thinks the amendment presents no disadvantages to Republicans, as many of them are elected from urban and more populated areas.

University of Wisconsin professor John Coleman wrote in an email to The Badger Herald that the issue is definitely not clear-cut, and that while those in urban areas can argue their vote counts for less, those in rural areas can also argue it’s not fair that they cannot count people who reside in their district

“The bottom line is that each side has a plausible case, but neither side has a monopoly on the fairness and equality argument,” Coleman said in the email.

Even though there are many differing opinions on the legislation, many, including Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, see it as a step in the right direction.

“I support addressing this issue. We should always be examining ourselves to make sure that people have an equal say in maintaining democratic principles,” Black said.