August 12, 2019
Time for action on prison voting
Greens co-leader Marama Davidson wants to see rapid action on a Waitangi Tribunal recommendation that the rights of prisoners to vote be restored.
The Greens and Labour voted against National's 2010 change to the Electoral Act that removed sentenced prisoners from the voting roll.
In an urgency report released today, the tribunal says that was a breach of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi which had a disproportionate impact on Māori, who are 11 times more likely to be removed from the rolls than non-Māori.
Ms Davidson says imprisonment is the punishment, and adding other punishments on top is a breach of human rights.
"Removing prisoners' rights was a breach of every level of human rights and definitely Te Tiriti given the disproportionate rate of Māori (affected) and we have continued to advocate to overturn that law and I hope we can get some action on it now," she says.
Attorney General Andrew Little is considering the recommendations, which also include providing help to get former prisoners back on the rolls before the 2020 electioon.
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