Prisoner vote could sway the smaller electorates

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A successful bid to overturn the ban on prison inmates voting this week could sway the results of future elections in close seats like Te Tai Tokerau, a justice system reform group says.

With the general election being held on September 20 prison inmates are banned from voting, but on Wednesday convicted drug dealer Arthur Taylor is taking a case to the High Court in Auckland arguing that banning prisoners from voting is inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights. Up until 2010 prisoners serving sentences under three years could vote.

If the prison population was permitted to vote from the next election it could effect election outcomes, particularly close races in Maori electorates such as Te Tai Tokerau, Rethinking Crime and Punishment founder Kim Workman said.

There are 548 prisoners in Ngawha Prison and 667 at Auckland Prison on the North Shore in the Te Tai Tokerau electorate boundaries, with many of those inmates Maori. Mana Movement Leader Hone Harawira won the Te Tai Tokerau electorate in the 2011 election by 1165 votes from Labour's Kelvin Davis, reducing Mr Harawira's majority from the 6308 he held at the 2008 general election. It's expected to be another close race this election.

Whangarei barrister Sue Earl represents Taylor in parole hearings and said many of the 250 prisoners she deals with a year are concerned about not being able to vote. The majority of those in prison are serving sentences less than three years.

She said a lot of the policies decided at election time effect inmates and their families because they often come from lower socioeconomic groups. A lot of prisoners are knowledgeable about politics and are following election coverage, Ms Earl said and voting would mean prisoners participate in the community before they are released.

"A lot of them are in the position of saying that it doesn't really matter what I don't have a voice," she said.

Mr Workman said if prisoners were allowed to vote the large Maori population in prison could make a difference in close election races.

"The Maori electorate is a great deal smaller (population-wise) than the other electorate so it could in theory effect the election results," Mr Workman said.

Sensible Sentencing Trust's Northland spokesman Steve Detlaff said the trust did not have an official position on the matter but personally he was strongly against prisoners voting.

"If a prisoner is in jail for committing murder or manslaughter they have taken away that right to vote from their victim so why should they be able to vote?" Mr Detlaff said.

While he had some sympathy for people imprisoned for less serious crimes, he said for the sake of clarity and fairness there should be one rule for all.

New Zealand is one of the only countries in the developed world where there is a blanket ban on prisoner voting. Australia allows prisoners serving sentences under three years to vote, while Canada allows all prisoners to vote. The United Kingdom also has a blanket ban on prisoner voting.