Below was a comment left by “Zahal” (Steven Engelhardt – Clay’s communications director) on our post last week titled, “Cong. Clay & Special Interest Groups Pressure Census Director; States Now Allowed to Use Prison Populations for Redistricting.”

CHECK YOUR FACTS BEFORE YOU POST SOMETHING.

Census Bureau decision has NOTHING to do with congressional redistricting.

Information on prisoners could be used by states to adjust redistricting for state legislature and local offices. But that is not mandatory.

Has nothing to do with federal redistricting.

Don’t just take our word on this. Here’s an excerpt from a story in The St. Louis Beacon, the only Missouri media outlet to report (after us) on Clay manipulating the census process to save his congressional district:

The Census Bureau has agreed to count the prisoners earlier, so they can be counted as part of the population of their home turf. That could affect the redistricting process for legislatures and members of Congress. Previously, said Clay, the prisoners were counted “only after states had finished their redistricting…

Clay — chairman of the House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census & National Archives — also potentially has a stake in this decision. The lines of Missouri’s congressional districts are to be redrawn after this latest census. And that IS done by the Missouri Legislature.

Missouri also is in dypouranger of losing one of its nine seats, and members of the GOP-dominated Legislature have made clear they hope to take that lost seat out of the St. Louis area. That could pit Clay against U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis.

So, if the Missouri Legislature chooses to use the Census Bureau’s prison data, it could affect congressional line-drawing. However, those close to Clay say he did not have the congressional districts in mind when the deal was struck. Read more….

Of course not!

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