Prisoners right to vote to be tested in the High Court
A full bench in the High Court in Canberra is today, considering the voting rights of Australian prisoners in a case being brought against the Australian Electoral Commission and the commonwealth of Australia. Previously, only prisoners serving sentences of more than five years were unable to vote. That is until last year, when the Government made changes to electoral laws that mean prisoners serving a sentence on election-day cannot vote. At the crux of the case is whether there is an implied right to vote set out in Australia’s constitution. Lawyers for the plaintiff, Vicky Roach will argue that the amendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Act are not supported by the constitution, which declares the Parliament shall be “directly chosen by the people”.