Share and Follow
Former prisoners have described to SBS News the barriers to voting while in jail and say the system does not appear to encourage voting and they are given little information on which to base their decision.
Linnane tells SBS that in the lead up to election day, he was told about the process to enrol during a daily headcount, and filled out a form in the guard’s office.
Nothing happened on election day. I was not called up to vote, nor was anyone else [that I saw].
When Linnane enquired about why he wasn’t assisted to vote, the prison staff said there was “a logistical issue”. He says he complained to the NSW Ombudsman when the agency was at the prison for a routine visit, but he never heard anything back.
Damien Linnane says he was not able to vote in 2016. Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed / Michelle Cox
The NSW Ombudsman told SBS News it does not comment on individual complaints after being asked about what happened with Linnane’s complaint.
Extremely low numbers of prisoners voted last election
“However, systems have been upgraded to ensure this data will be available for all federal elections (and referendums) from 2022 onwards. The upgrades reflect our commitment to improving and providing accurate information.”
“This involves bringing in manual voting booths into the prison in the week leading up to election day, with all prisons in Victoria participating.”
Push to change ‘unjust’ prisoner voting laws
“Decisions made at both state and federal levels — by political parties, ministers, and governments — deeply affect the lives of people in prison.”
Everyone deserves the right to have a say on decisions that impact them.
“It’s unjust, and it’s time these acts were amended,” he says.
David Mejia-Canales, a senior lawyer at the centre, said: “We thought that that was not only just manifestly unfair, that’s not how democracy works.”
People do not stop being citizens just because they are imprisoned.
A Coalition campaign spokesperson said: “The Coalition has no plans to change laws in relation to prisoner voting.”
‘Without information, you’re very hesitant to vote’
There is no internet in prison, and there are restrictions on which newspapers and television channels are allowed. Without access to much information, Flanagan was not confident about how to vote.
Kelly Flanagan says she was provided with very little information when she voted in the Victorian state election in 2022. Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed
“Without the information you’re very hesitant to vote”, she said, “I found there was no information on each party. And even when you ask officers to provide you with some, they won’t,” Flanagan says.
Lack of information is something that About Time, Australia’s first national prison newspaper, has “heard quite a lot” about, according to senior reporter Denham Sadler.
“[It’s] so hard for our small team to have oversight. What we do have is connections with corrections departments at each facility,” she says.
Barriers to voting can feel dehumanising
“The experience of prisoners is our opinion doesn’t matter. We’re criminals, so we don’t deserve information. We don’t deserve to make an informed choice,” Flanagan says.
I know when I speak to other First Nations women, they’re like, what’s the point? They don’t care about us, why should we bother?
They say this is especially important for marginalised populations such as First Nations people.
“This includes providing them with information on upcoming elections and helping them enrol or update their existing enrolment details.”
