Voting rights of prisoners to be reviewed
LAWS could be relaxed in Guernsey to ensure short-term prisoners can vote in general elections without needing permission from the governor.
A review of voting rights has been earmarked by the States Assembly and Constitution Committee, which will include the rights of inmates at Les Nicolles.
At present Guernsey's Reform Law stops any prisoner voting who is not registered as an absent voter, unless they have permission from the prison governor to attend a polling station.
Prisoners who have registered as absent voters, including those convicted of more serious crimes, are allowed to vote by post.
Sacc chairman Matt Fallaize said the need to be pre-registered as an absent voter could prove a problem for anyone convicted for a shorter term and who had not had the chance to register.
'Certainly the power of a governor to determine whether a prisoner can vote – it seems to be a case that is not appropriate as it is,' he said.
'We really need to ask, should a prisoner be precluded from voting? If so, under what circumstances? I don't think a blanket ban is right and I don't think the committee is comfortable with a blanket ban or the prison governor having any kind of discretion over whether prisoners can vote.'
