Can prisoners vote in australia

Criminal Law - Australia - mondaq. Is compulsory voting right in Australia? Can you vote in Australia? What is the largest prison in Australia?

Prisoners Enrolment is compulsory for all persons who are years or over and an Australian citizen or an eligible British subject.

Once enrolled it is also compulsory for all eligible prisoners to vote in a federal election. Prisoners serving sentences of five years or longer in respect of convictions for offences against Australian federal, state or territory laws are prohibited from voting at federal elections. State jurisdictions also provide for disenfranchisement on varying grounds in state elections. This process of compulsory enrolment demonstrates our nation’s hard fought dedication to achieving a democratic process that accurately reflects public opinion and values. The big problem we have in the UK is not the voting system it is the low turnout.

In the last general elections more people did not vote than voted for the government. AV will not solve this.

Voting is a basic human right, something our forebears fought for, and to disenfranchise a person for any reason is a major step, said Nathan Luke, solicitor at Stacks Law Firm. Her lawyers will argue that the ban on prisoners voting in parliamentary elections is unconstitutional. Currently in Australia , people who have been sentenced for more than years in prison do not have the right to vote in federal elections while they are serving their sentence.

Some argue that it may be reasonable to punish prisoners who have committed serious crimes by depriving them of the right to vote. The Australian Human Rights Commission believes that denying prisoners of the right to vote, just because they have been sentenced to imprisonment for or more years does not satisfy the ‘reasonableness’ test at international law. This approach is consistent with judicial decisions in Canada and the United Kingdom. He said to allow prisoners to vote in their prison electorates could seriously skew election in individual seats. The result brings Australia into line with other parts of the worl such as Canada and Europe, where certain prisoners may also vote, Professor Williams said.

He plans to allow people sentenced to less than three years. The existing Federal law in Australia allows prisoners on remand or incarcerated for less than three years to vote in Federal elections. If you are serving a sentence of less than three years, serving a sentence of periodic detention, on early release, or on parole you are entitled to enrol and vote if you are an Australian citizen and aged years or older. In Australia prisoners serving three years or more are barred from voting , but can vote once they’re released. In Australia , the question of whether prisoners should be allowed to vote is controversial.

At present, serious offenders are barred from voting. According to Justice Action, around per cent fall into this category.

The prisoners ’ votes debate is about the balance between citizenship and redemption. It is right to prevent serving prisoners from voting , but it is wrong to prevent freed ex-cons from doing so. To vote in local, state, territory or federal elections in Australia , people must be registered on the relevant electoral roll. The different jurisdictions in Australia ’s federation – the states, territories and Commonwealth – can each grant the franchise to different types of people and can maintain their own electoral rolls.

The Voting Eligibility ( Prisoners ) Bill has been drafted to give Members of Parliament three options on which to vote. Option would retain the ban for prisoners jailed for over four years. Option would retain the ban for prisoners jailed for over six months.

Option would retain the current ban with minor amendments.