2021 Delaware Code
Title 29 - State Government
Chapter 8. Composition of and Reapportionment of the General Assembly
Subchapter I. General Provisions
§ 804A. Criteria for counting incarcerated individuals for redistricting purposes.
(a) The General Assembly, in determining the reapportionment and redistricting for the State, applying the criteria set forth in § 804 of this title, and using the official reporting of the federal decennial census as set forth in § 805 of this title, may not count as part of the population in a given district boundary an incarcerated individual who meets both of the following:
(1) Was incarcerated in a state correctional facility in this State or federal correctional facility, as determined by the decennial census.
(2) Was not a resident of the State before the individual's incarceration.
(b) (1) The General Assembly, in determining the reapportionment and redistricting for the State as provided in this subchapter, shall count as part of the population in a given district boundary an individual incarcerated in a state correctional facility in this State or federal correctional facility, as determined by the decennial census, if the individual was a resident of the State before incarceration.
(2) The General Assembly shall count the individual for reapportionment and redistricting purposes at the individual's last known residence before incarceration.
(c) This section does not apply to the redistricting of the State following the 2010 federal decennial census. This section applies to the redistricting of the State following each federal decennial census thereafter.
(d) The Department of Elections shall geocode the last known residence of an incarcerated individual that is provided by the Department of Correction or the Federal Bureau of Prisons and is required to be counted under section (b) of this section.
(1) On or before September 15 of the year of a federal decennial census, the Department of Correction shall provide to the Department of Elections information in the Department of Correction's possession regarding the last known residence of an incarcerated individual required to be counted under subsection (b) of this section.
(2) The Department of Elections shall make reasonable efforts to correct a last known residence of an incarcerated individual that is not able to be geocoded, including by doing the following:
a. Verifying and correcting zip codes against the United States Postal Service zip code locator.
b. Correcting misspellings of city and street names.
c. Correcting or adding street suffixes against the United State Postal Service zip code locator.
d. Correcting street direction using the United States Postal Service zip code locator.
e. Removing extra information from the address field.
f. Removing an apartment number.
g. Removing a decimal point.
(3) The Department of Elections may request from a state or federal agency information necessary to geocode the last known residence of an incarcerated individual required to be counted under section (b) of this section.
(4) If, after making reasonable efforts under paragraph (d)(2) of this section, the Department of Elections is not able to geocode the last known residence of an incarcerated individual, the Department shall establish the last known residence of the incarcerated individual as the state correctional facility where the individual is incarcerated.
(5) The Department of Elections shall provide to the General Assembly the geocoded last known residence data for incarcerated individuals required to be counted under subsection (b) of this section on or before January 15 of the year following a federal decennial census.
(6) The Department of Elections may adopt regulations to implement this section.
