Should prisoners be allowed to vote?

[Tinker]

Just heard a bloke on the radio saying that prisoners lose their right to libery not citizenship.

Had never thought about the issue before.

Any views?

[Tinker]

For the people who think "no" - why?

[JoolsToo]

write to your local MP they will arrange it for you - or the Local Authority

[nailpolish]

if you can get to a postbox to post a letter you can get to a polling station

[JoolsToo]

I'd rather ask 'why should they?'

[Blossomhill]

Yes I agree Joolstoo.

[northerner]

Not lengthy at all, simply request a postal vote when you get the letter through the door listing all people in your household eligble to vote.

Not going to a polling station is just apathy imo. All of the major parties will lay on transport to and from the polling sation should any constiuent(sp?) request it.

In certain countries we see people walking for days to vote. Here pepole can't be arsed to pop round the corner.

Not directing this at you nailpolish btw, this is just a subject close to my heart!

[nailpolish]

to change the subject a little - it makes me laugh when they say slopping out is against their human rights! i say it serves them right. you commit a crime knowing you could go to prison if found out, and you know that slopping out is part of prison, therefore you make an informed choice to commit the crime knowing what might happen!

waffling now

but wasnt there a prisoner recently who received compensation for slopping out, because it upset him, poor lamb

[DillyDally]

As an aside, it took me three attempts to get registered to vote for where I live as Royal Mail are rubbish

[Tinker]

I'm asking because it's my thread

Surely the right to vote is the default position so any exceptions need to be justified.

[nailpolish]

i agree northerner, 100%, but its a fact its just laziness on some (most) parts, although there are others who just cant

[JoolsToo]

nailpolish - I think there are plans afoot to stop slopping out - human rights and all that! - the fact that millions of caravanners do it quite happily most weekends is neither here not there

[nailpolish]

i think slopping out should be made to stay

[nailpolish]

excuse bad grammar please, getting wound up

[JoolsToo]

I concur!

[nailpolish]

hmmm

[JoolsToo]

about slopping!

[nailpolish]

oh ok

some prisoners in the Bar-L have their own phones

[nailpolish]

not mobiles

[Hulababy]

I suspect one reason why they can't vote in prison is the fact that it could not be done anonymously. All mail from and to prisoners has to be checked by officers (for obvious reasons). This would mean that officers could be subject to charges/accusations of corruption.

Online access is very limited in all but fully open prisons., therefore Internet voting wouldn't be possible for majority of inamtes. Mobile phones are bannded from prisons full stop (for inmates, staff and visitors) so text voting is out too. And I can;t see inmates all queing up to do telephone vioting - there is no where completely private for such calls (again for obvious reasons).

Inmates do have access to newspapers in the library/education, TV (unless on basic regime, local press, etc. and I am sure they could have some acess to political leaflets if need be.

Should they be allowed to vote? You knopw, I have never really considered this. Loss of liberty is their punishment (but I agree not citizenship) so???? DH says that there has been talks about changes to this rule, but nothing as yet. I have to say that the vast majoity of my inmates are not interested in voting (I was chatting to them this week about some political claims in the press). But there were some who were. I will have to try to remember and ask some about this next week.

[motherinferior]

I thought prisoners could vote. Don't see why they shouldn't be able to. Whyever not?

[Heathcliffscathy]

i am totally that they can't. thought that was an american thing only. of course they should be allowed to vote. like was said they are not made non-citizens are they?

actually i think in some states in us ex-felons aren't allowed to, which ends up being a large proportion of black male voters (mostly democrat) hmmmmmmmm...

[BubblesDeVere]

Lonelymum, i am in agreement with you, definately NO they should not be able to vote.

[wobblyknicks]

They should certainly not get to vote. They've committed an act that warrants them being removed from society (the fact that most of them will go back into that society is irrelevant to the time they are away from it) so they should no longer take part in any activity that society partakes in. They don't have to pay council tax, pay their living costs (directly anyway) etc so why should they enjoy one specific freedom of society, ie voting.

[motherinferior]

Hmmm, I tend to think that voting is a duty not a freedom.

[JoolsToo]

twice, thrice she says NAY!