JUST 2257: “Rights Of Prisoners To Vote” - Management Assignment

Internal Code: MAS3285

Management Assignment:

Paragraph 1: In this first section, I will be addressing the history component of the topic and how it has shaped and formed current policy. Australia has a relatively long history of the right to vote. In 1843 the first election was held. The Australian Electoral Commission (2016) states that under the first Commonwealth Parliament in 1902 that any person, serving a sentence in prison for a year or longer were now unable to vote. This carried on for more than 80 years until in 1983 when it was (Parliament of Australia, 2004, p.1) “amended to apply to persons under sentence for an offence punishable under the law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory by imprisonment for five years or longer” In recent years there have been a number of changes to prisoner’s rights to vote. (Australian Electoral Commission, 2016, p.1) 2006- “Prisoners serving a sentence of three years or more were no longer entitled to enrol or vote “ 2007- “Prisoners serving full-time sentences of imprisonment were no longer entitled to vote.” Currently in Federal Law prisoners are not allowed to vote if they are (Prisoners Rights | Australian Human Rights Commission, 2012, p. 1) “people who have been sentenced for more than 3 years in prison and do not have the right to vote in federal elections while they are serving their sentence”. This statement also means that those severing life sentences won’t have the right to vote. It would prohibit prisoners from any possibility of having the right of say over policies that might determine a direct or indirect impact, on their welfare and may impede their future rehabilitation for the duration of their stay in prison. In Victoria, the only eligible prisoners who wish to vote in the Federal Election are those who are serving a sentence of 3 years or less. However, for the State Elections (Victorian Electoral Commission, n.d., p.3)“prisoners serving a sentence of fewer than five years are entitled to enrol and vote.” New Zealand follows a similar path as Australia’s as (Robins, 2006, p.165) “Prisoners serving sentences of life imprisonment, preventive detention or terms of three years or more are barred from electoral registration.” In comparison, America has been increasingly strict when it comes to the treatment of prisoners. US prisoners are barred from voting once they have been incarcerated. In some States, their voting rights will continue to be stripped even after the sentence has been completed. This treatment dictates that voting is a right they cannot have, and this extends to (Manza, 2004, p. 275) “4.1 and 4.2 Million Americans”. Paragraph 2 Human Rights Instruments National/International: There has been and are currently a number of treaties and international documents that have guaranteed human rights for every person, it’s even extended to criminals and convicts. One major if not most relevant international treaty is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This important treaty outlines basic rights and freedoms for every single human being. In relation to prisoners, basic freedoms the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides a number of different rights. An important right in relation to prison voting is (United Nations, 1948, (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.   This particular article ensures that every person has the right to appoint a government representative on their behalf even prisoners. Other articles of Universal Declaration of Human Rights that affect prisoners and their rights to vote, include Article 2 Ban of discrimination, Article 5 Ban on torture. These particular articles are important to prisoner voting rights as they guarantee basic human rights that prevent degrading treatment but ensure their freedom to express a political opinion. Questions: Q1. Critically examine the rights of women prisoners to have their dependent children with them in prison. Explain the history of the issue, what human rights instruments, national or international, are relevant and assess whether current policy achieves fairness for all parties. Illustrate your answer with reference to the current practice in selected Australian or overseas jurisdictions. Q2. Prisoners should not be permitted to vote. Their offending demonstrates disrespect for the rule of law and they should not be given the right to determine who should make the laws. Critically assess this statement, making reference to current prisoners’ voting rights and rationale in Australia. Contrast with practice in selected other countries such as Canada, the UK, New Zealand or the countries of Western Europe.