Positive points related prisenors should be given a right to vote or not
1) Denying prisoners their right to vote undermines law and policy that is meant
to rehabilitate and integrate prisoners.
2) Civil death is outdated.
3) Social contract cannot be negotiated away.
4) Undermines the democratic polity by denying the vote to a section of the
population.
5) Elected should not be allowed to decide the electorate.
6) Allowing convicts to vote will encourage respect for law.
7) Convicts will be less inclined to obey laws that they have had no role in
deciding upon.
8) Symbolic statement to the convict that they are acceptable.
9) Allowing prisoners to vote will be a lesson in civic education.
10) It is rehabilitative.
11) Retribution should have no place in modern penalty.
12) One of the prisoners was quoted saying: “I will pay taxes but I won’t be able to
vote…It lets me know that I’m not truly a citizen ... I will have no say in the
political process or the direction of the nation”.
13) BBC (2012) lists 18 European countries which have given full voting rights to
all prisoners.
14) The Irish government, in 2006, gave all its prisoners the right to vote without
any public outcry demanding for it, without any media controversy, or judicial
decision.
15) Article 21 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) provides that
everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country, directly
or through freely chosen representatives.
(a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen
representatives;
(b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal
and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of
the will of the electors.