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The successful Barred from Voting campaign was initiated by PRT and Unlock, the National Association of Ex-offenders. It is backed by a coalition of senior cross party politicians, church leaders, ex-offenders, human rights groups and prison reformers, set out to overturn a 135 year old law which means that when people are sentenced to prison, they are automatically stripped of their voting rights. In March 2004 in a case brought by life sentenced prisoner, John Hirst, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the ban on sentenced prisoners voting violated Article Three of the European Convention on Human Rights. The government appealed against this unanimous judgement. In October 2005 the Grand Chamber upheld the decision that the blanket ban on sentenced prisoners voting is unlawful. PRT provided expert evidence for both Strasbourg hearings. We published a briefing paper setting out the argument for reform citing international comparisons. We also gained a clarification of the position for those serving a sentence of intermittent custody. In December 2006 the Department for Constitutional Affairs began the consultation process to decide which prisoners would be eligible to vote you can read the full PRT response to the consultation and the briefing paper Barred from Voting: the right to vote for sentenced prisoners by clicking the links below.
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