OIAPG521 B White Documents.pdf

Document 1
Williamson, Katrina
From:
Denoual, Hayley
Sent:
Wednesday, 12 March 2025 8:00 am
To:
s9(2)(a)
Cc:
Brightwell, Kathy; Greaney, Caroline; Crooke, David
Subject:
Further Electoral Matters
ACT 1982
Kia ora s9(2)
(a)
Thank-you for your call yesterday seeking process advice on the poten al  ming/approach to introducing legisla ve
amendments so that all sentenced prisoners are disqualiﬁed from vo ng – in eﬀect reversing the changes
introduced in 2020 by the Electoral (Registra on of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Act. s9(2)(f)(iv)
I’ve set out some ini al advice on process, e.g legisla ve vehicles,  and  ming op ons, and a few other points for
considera ons below.   We can provide more substan ve policy advice on the underlying proposal in due course, as
required.
Legisla ve vehicle
There are two op ons for a [government-led] legisla ve vehicle to progress any changes to the prisoner vo ng rules,
and there are pros and cons to each. Whichever op on is chosen, a new or amended LEG bid may be required.
INFORMATION
Poten al vehicle
Pros
Cons
Include in upcoming
-
This Bill already has a place on
-  s9(2)(f)(iv)
Electoral Ma ers Bill
the 2025 Legisla on
programme.
-
It should reduce House  me at
each of the Readings (although
may take more  me during
select commi ee and at CoWH)
-  s9(2)(f)(iv)
A prisoner
vo ng ban proposal is likely to
a ract a large number of
submissions, this may put undue
pressure on the Jus ce Commi ee
and may risk delaying its report
back.
-
Mee ng this  meframe wil
require a signiﬁcant and
immediate redeployment of
resources to allow the policy,
implementa on, and dra ing work
to be completed under very  ght
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Document 1
As discussed on the phone just now. I look forward to receiving your advice by midday tomorrow.

Kathy and Caroline – Hayley will ﬁll you in.

Ngā mihi

s9(2)(a)

Private Secretary – Justice | Office of Hon Paul Goldsmith
ACT 1982

Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage
Minister of Justice
Minister for Media and Communications
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations

s9(2)(a)


Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

Authorised by Hon Paul Goldsmith, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

INFORMATION
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Document 2
Williamson, Katrina
From:
Denoual, Hayley
Sent:
Monday, 24 March 2025 6:53 pm
To:
s9(2)(a)
Cc:
[email address]; Greaney, Caroline; Pearce, Ella; Huffine, Leigh; Handley,
Georgie; Brightwell, Kathy; Crooke, David
Subject:
Briefing - Additional electoral reforms: updated and draft Cabinet papers
ACT 1982
Attachments:
20250324 Briefing - Additional electoral reforms - updated and draft Cabinet
papers.pdf; Out of scope

Paper 4- Cabinet paper - Disqualification of sentenced
prisoners.docx; Appendix 1 - History of prisoner voting in New Zealand
(1956-2023).pdf
Kia ora s9(2)(a)  and s9(2)

(a)
As requested on Friday, and further to discussions at the oﬃcials mee ng earlier today, please ﬁnd a ached:
  Brieﬁng - Addi onal electoral reforms: updated and dra  Cabinet papers
  Out of scope


INFORMATION
  New dra  Cabinet paper (Paper 4: Disqualiﬁca on of sentenced prisoners from vo ng)
o  Appendix 1 - History of prisoner vo ng in New Zealand (1956-2023).pdf

We note that no agency consulta on has yet been taken Out of scope
or on the new paper
4.
We are seeking agreement to inform the Electoral Commission, the Department of Correc ons, the Department of
Internal Aﬀairs (Local Government), and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Policy Advisory Group)
about the proposed prisoner vo ng ban before Cabinet Paper 4 is lodged on Thursday. We also proposed to engage
with the Ministry for Regula on of the RIS requirements, once we have received the Minister’s direc ons.

s9(2)(f)(iv)



Happy to discuss -  please let us know if you need anything further.

Nga mihi

Hayley

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Document 2
Hayley Denoual (she/her)
Policy Manager |Kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa
Democracy and Open Government |Civil and Constitutional Unit
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
s9(2)(a)

Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
[email address] | justice.govt.nz

‘Chat with me on Teams’

ACT 1982
We value and encourage flexible first. While it suits me to send this now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own
working hours.

INFORMATION
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Document 3
Williamson, Katrina
From:
Denoual, Hayley
Sent:
Wednesday, 26 March 2025 1:26 pm
To:
s9(2)(a)
Cc:
Pearce, Ella; Huffine, Leigh; Handley, Georgie; s9(2)(a)
Subject:
Prisoner voting Cabinet paper - prisoner stats
ACT 1982
Kia ora s9(2)(a)

Please ﬁnd below some ini al data in response to your ques on earlier about the number of prisoners who might be aﬀected by the proposed ban. As I noted, in the  me available we have not had  me to gather and analyse the more recent sta s cs
on prisoner numbers etc. but we intend to do that as part of the RIA we will prepare for Cabinet LEG.

As the dra  Cabinet paper notes, Correc ons sta s cs of prison popula on by ethnicity as at December 2024 show a total prison popula on of 10,075, of which 5,812 are sentenced prisoners. Its publicly available data does not break this down
further into length of term - and of course, some prisoners may not be eligible to enrol regardless of length of sentence, for example if they do not meet the residency requirements. I can follow up with our Criminal Jus ce unit to see whether they
might have access to a more detailed breakdown of the prison popula on by sentence length – if we cannot get this data before lodging we may be able to get you something ahead of SOU next Wednesday?

In the interim, Figure NZ, an external data research agency has produced the following breakdown based on Stats NZ data to June 2024 - see below (but please note that we haven’t veriﬁed this for accuracy/completeness): Length of prison sentences
in New Zealand - Figure.NZ

INFORMATION
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Document 4
Williamson, Katrina
From:
Handley, Georgie
Sent:
Wednesday, 26 March 2025 4:30 pm
To:
Denoual, Hayley; s9(2)(a)
Cc:
[email address]; Greaney, Caroline; Pearce, Ella; Huffine, Leigh; Brightwell,
Kathy; Crooke, David
Subject:
RE: Briefing - Additional electoral reforms: updated and draft Cabinet papers
ACT 1982
Attachments:
Appendix 1 - History of prisoner voting in New Zealand (1956-2023) (1).pdf; Paper
4- post ministerial consultation - Disqualification of sentenced prisoners.docx
Kia ora s9(2)(a)

As discussed, please ﬁnd a ached an updated paper 4, plus appendix, rela ng to prisoner vo ng.  The main changes
are: -  s9(2)(g)(i)

-  a change to the departmental comment;
-  minor and technical edi ng comments.

I have been talking to the Ministry for Regula on about ﬁnalising the RIS paragraphs. Unfortunately MfR are in a full
day workshop today so they have been unable to get the ﬁnal wording to us so far. So para 38 – 40 may look a li le
diﬀerent for the lodged version tomorrow (but the intent will remain the same – we will need to do a RIS at a later
INFORMATION
stage). I can let you know ﬁrst thing tomorrow morning if the changes to those paras are signiﬁcant.

We are working on some addi onal stats around prisoners sentenced to less than three years, and will include this
in the aide memoire for SOU next week.

Any ques ons please let me know

Ngā mihi

Georgie
Principal Policy Advisor | Democracy and Open Government
Civil and Constitutional Unit | Policy Group
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
s9(2)(a)

National Office | Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
DX Box SX10088 | Wellington
  [email address] | justice.govt.nz

From: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2025 4:51 PM
To:s9(2)(a)

Cc: [email address]; Greaney, Caroline <[email address]>; Pearce, Ella
<[email address]>; Huffine, Leigh <[email address]>; Handley, Georgie
<[email address]>; Brightwell, Kathy <[email address]>; Crooke, David
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Document 4
<[email address]>
Subject: RE: Briefing - Additional electoral reforms: updated and draft Cabinet papers

Kia ora s9(2)(a)

Thanks for sending the signed brieﬁng through.

As requested, please ﬁnd a ached updated clean versions of these two Cabinet papers for ministerial consulta on.:

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  Out of scope


  Cabinet paper 4: Disqualiﬁca on of sentenced prisoners from vo ng)

We have le  a couple of ‘TBC’ In the papers around the agency consulta on and RIA requirements, un l we have
had the opportunity to speak to the Ministry for Regula on and Correc ons – which we’ll aim to do tomorrow.
We’ve informed the Electoral Commission, DIA and PAG now, and will shared a copy of the a ached papers with
them too.

Please let me know if you need anything further on these two papers, to assist with ministerial consulta on ahead
of lodging on Thursday.

Nga mihi
INFORMATION

Hayley

Hayley Denoual  (she/her)
Policy Manager |Kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa
Democracy and Open Government |Civil and Constitutional Unit
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
s9(2)(a)

  Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
[email address] | justice.govt.nz

‘Chat with me on Teams’

We value and encourage flexible first. While it suits me to send this now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own
working hours.

From: s9(2)(a)

Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2025 4:23 PM
To: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>; s9(2)(a)

Cc: [email address]; Greaney, Caroline <[email address]>; Pearce, Ella
<[email address]>; Huffine, Leigh <[email address]>; Handley, Georgie
<[email address]>; Brightwell, Kathy <[email address]>; Crooke, David
<[email address]>
Subject: RE: Briefing - Additional electoral reforms: updated and draft Cabinet papers

Hi team,

Attached, signed brieﬁng.

Can I have clean version of Out of scope
4 as a priority?
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Document 4

Cheers,
s9(2)(a)

s9(2)(a)

Private Secretary – Justice | Office of Hon Paul Goldsmith

ACT 1982
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage
Minister of Justice
Minister for Media and Communications
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations

Mobile: s9(2)(a)

Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

Authorised by Hon Paul Goldsmith, Parliament Buildings

From: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 24 March 2025 6:53 PM
To:s9(2)(a)

Cc: [email address]; Greaney, Caroline <[email address]>; Pearce, Ella
<[email address]>; Huffine, Leigh <[email address]>; Handley, Georgie
<[email address]>; Brightwell, Kathy <[email address]>; Crooke, David
<[email address]>
INFORMATION
Subject: Briefing - Additional electoral reforms: updated and draft Cabinet papers

Kia ora s9(2)(a) and s9(2)

(a)
As requested on Friday, and further to discussions at the oﬃcials mee ng earlier today, please ﬁnd a ached:
  Brieﬁng - Addi onal electoral reforms: updated and dra  Cabinet papers
  Out of scope


  New dra  Cabinet paper (Paper 4: Disqualiﬁca on of sentenced prisoners from vo ng)
o  Appendix 1 - History of prisoner vo ng in New Zealand (1956-2023).pdf

We note that no agency consulta on has yet been taken Out of scope
on the new paper
4.
We are seeking agreement to inform the Electoral Commission, the Department of Correc ons, the Department of
Internal Aﬀairs (Local Government), and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Policy Advisory Group)
about the proposed prisoner vo ng ban before Cabinet Paper 4 is lodged on Thursday. We also proposed to engage
with the Ministry for Regula on of the RIS requirements, once we have received the Minister’s direc ons.

As you know, this suite of electoral papers is due to be lodged on Thursday 27 March, for Cabinet SOU on 2 April.
We are in the process of incorpora ng minor changes from ministerial and departmental feedback on the other two
papers in this suite (Paper 1: Electoral Ma ers Bill – Policy approvals ( meliness and eﬃciency) and Paper 3:
Government response to the Jus ce Commi ee report Inquiry into the 2023 General Elec on),  which we will
provide tomorrow (tracked and clean versions) for ﬁnal approval for lodging,

Happy to discuss -  please let us know if you need anything further.

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Document 4
Nga mihi

Hayley

ACT 1982
Hayley Denoual (she/her)
Policy Manager |Kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa
Democracy and Open Government |Civil and Constitutional Unit
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
s9(2)(a)

Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
[email address] | justice.govt.nz

‘Chat with me on Teams’

We value and encourage flexible first. While it suits me to send this now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own
working hours.

INFORMATION
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INFORMATION
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Document 6
Williamson, Katrina
From:
Denoual, Hayley
Sent:
Wednesday, 2 April 2025 6:02 pm
To:
s9(2)(a)
Cc:
Huffine, Leigh; Pearce, Ella; Lynn, Robert; Brightwell, Kathy; Crooke, David; Handley,
Georgie
Subject:
RE: Prisoner voting stats  - additional material on offence type
ACT 1982
And here’s the bullets re the upcoming Sentencing Act changes.

  The Sentencing Act changes, which come into effect from July, are forecast to result in:
o  more prisoners currently receiving prison sentences serving longer sentences; and
o  more prisoners who would previously have received home detention or intensive supervision
sentences serving prison sentences.
  Under the existing 3-year prisoner voting disqualification rule, these Sentencing Act changes are expected to
result in an increase in the number of offenders receiving sentences of 3 years or more, and thus being
ineligible to vote.
  Under the proposal to exclude all prisoners from voting these Sentencing Act changes would result in an
INFORMATION
even larger increase in the total number of offenders being ineligible to vote.

Nga mihi

Hayley

Hayley Denoual  (she/her)
Policy Manager |Kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa
Democracy and Open Government |Civil and Constitutional Unit
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
s9(2)(a)

  Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
[email address] | justice.govt.nz

‘Chat with me on Teams’

We value and encourage flexible first. While it suits me to send this now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own
working hours.

From: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 2, 2025 5:42 PM
To: Handley, Georgie <[email address]>; s9(2)(a)

Cc: Huffine, Leigh <[email address]>; Pearce, Ella <[email address]>; Lynn, Robert
<[email address]>; Brightwell, Kathy <[email address]>; Crooke, David
<[email address]>
Subject: RE: Prisoner voting stats - additional material on offence type

Kia ora s9(2)(a)
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Document 6

As discussed earlier, please ﬁnd a ached an updated note with the addi onal data breakdown re: oﬀence type for
oﬀenders receiving prison sentences with a sentence of under 3 years  (Figure 2 and Table A1).

We’ll send though the bullets on the poten al impact of the upcoming Sentencing Act changes shortly, but wanted
to at least get you the data tables now.

Nga Mihi

ACT 1982
Hayley

Hayley Denoual  (she/her)
Policy Manager |Kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa
Democracy and Open Government |Civil and Constitutional Unit
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
s9(2)(a)

  Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
[email address] | justice.govt.nz

‘Chat with me on Teams’

We value and encourage flexible first. While it suits me to send this now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own
working hours.
INFORMATION

From: Handley, Georgie <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 2, 2025 11:58 AM
To: s9(2)(a)

Cc: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>; Huffine, Leigh <[email address]>; Pearce, Ella
<[email address]>; Lynn, Robert <[email address]>
Subject: Prisoner voting stats

Kia ora s9(2)(a)

As requested, please ﬁnd a ached some data rela ng to prisoner vo ng.

We welcome your thoughts on whether you would like some of the data added to the paper – either in the body or
a ached as an appendix - or whether it is included in the aide memoire that we will provide for cabinet
considera on next week.

As you will be aware, the prisoner vo ng paper has already been lodged for next week.  If you wish to amend the
paper, we can do that and get it back to you for approval and re-lodging by 10am tomorrow.

Any ques ons please let me know
  Ngā mihi

Georgie

Principal Policy Advisor | Democracy and Open Government
Civil and Constitutional Unit | Policy Group
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
s9(2)(a)

  National Office | Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
DX Box SX10088 | Wellington
[email address] | justice.govt.nz

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Document 7
Williamson, Katrina
From:
Denoual, Hayley
Sent:
Thursday, 3 April 2025 3:18 pm
To:
s9(2)(a)
Cc:
Handley, Georgie; Lynn, Robert
Subject:
FW: Prisoner voting stats
ACT 1982
Kia ora s9(2)(a)

As just mentioned, we’ve had a few questions from PAG regarding the prisoner voting data we provided yesterday –
which we also shared with PAG. The questions and responses we’ve provided to date are below – my apologies that
we omitted copying in the Office at the same time.

On the last question in Jess’s email below, I’ve noted that our data specialist is now unavailable until Monday, so I
will pass this question on to him and revert back if we are able to provide that breakdown.

Nga mihi

Hayley

INFORMATION
Hayley Denoual  (she/her)
Policy Manager |Kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa
Democracy and Open Government |Civil and Constitutional Unit
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
s9(2)(a)

  Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
[email address] | justice.govt.nz

‘Chat with me on Teams’

We value and encourage flexible first. While it suits me to send this now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own
working hours.

From: Jessica Gorman [DPMC] <[email address]>
Sent: Thursday, April 3, 2025 1:14 PM
To: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>
Cc: Handley, Georgie <[email address]>; Brendan Gage [DPMC] <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Prisoner voting stats

Thanks very much Hayley, appreciate you continuing to clarify for us. I expect it might be difficult to get data
on what proportion of people sentenced to a term of imprisonment under three years actually serve that
sentence post sentencing (and for how long)?

From: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>
Sent: Thursday, 3 April 2025 1:12 pm
To: Jessica Gorman [DPMC] <[email address]>
Cc: Handley, Georgie <[email address]>; Brendan Gage [DPMC] <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Prisoner voting stats

Hi Jessica

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Document 7
Sorry for the delay; I’ve spoken with our data specialist who has advised that the data is of people
sentenced to a term of imprisonment in prison, so it will include people sentenced to time served, who
were actually in prison or on remand. It does not include those on home detention.

Hope this has clarified the question? Our data specialist is back on board next Monday, if there is any more
detailed breakdowns you need?

Thanks
ACT 1982

Hayley

Hayley Denoual
Policy Manager, Democracy and Open Government
s9(2)(a)

From: Jessica Gorman [DPMC] <[email address]>
Sent: Thursday, April 3, 2025 10:45:37 AM
To: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>
Cc: Handley, Georgie <[email address]>; Brendan Gage [DPMC] <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Prisoner voting stats

Thanks Hayley, that’s really helpful. I think you don’t need to worry about the “other” (thanks for the
explanation), but would be good to hear confirmation on whether the data includes remand/home detention
INFORMATION
when you can.

From: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>
Sent: Thursday, 3 April 2025 10:43 am
To: Jessica Gorman [DPMC] <[email address]>
Cc: Handley, Georgie <[email address]>; Brendan Gage [DPMC] <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Prisoner voting stats

Kia ora Jess

I have responses to your first two questions below.

•     Can you explain what types of offences are included in the category “15: Offences against justice
procedures, government security and government operations”

-             Key offences in this category include: failure to answer bail, resisting Police, breaches of community
sentence conditions, parole conditions, breaches of protection orders.

•     Is it possible to get more information about what types of offending might result in prison sentences as
opposed to home detention or intensive supervision sentences?

-             The sentencing reforms will primarily impact those currently receiving longer sentences of intensive
supervision (18 months to 2 years) and home detention (9 months -1 year sentences) – i.e. at the more serious end
of offending for these sentences.
-             This group isn’t so much defined by offence type – there a wide range of offences that result in these
sentences.
-             Rather it’s public safety risk: offenders in this group will be considered by the Courts to present a lower risk
to public safety (for example because they are first time offenders or have complied well with previous community
sentences), with any risks being appropriately managed by the conditions of the sentence.

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Document 7
My understanding is that the data is offenders serving prison sentences, not those on remand or in home detention
- but I will need to double check that with our data specialist. He is on  a training course today, so I may not be able
to get hold of him until the next course break.

On your question about ‘other’ offences, do you mean the ANZSOC category “ 16: Miscellaneous offences: in Table
A1, or the ‘other offences’ line in Figure 2? If the latter, then that bar is basically just a wrap up of all of the
offenders’ sentenced for all of the other offences categories  listed in table A1, that aren’t separately identified on
the x-axis in Figure 2- these individual offence categories had less than 5% of offenders in them, so to make the
chart more readable these were rol ed up into one collective ‘other’. If the former, I’d need to check the details on
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that ANZSOC category with our data specialist.

Nga mihi

Hayley



Hayley Denoual  (she/her)
Policy Manager |Kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa
Democracy and Open Government |Civil and Constitutional Unit
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
INFORMATION
  s9(2)(a)

Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
[email address] | justice.govt.nz

‘Chat with me on Teams’

We value and encourage flexible first. While it suits me to send this now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own working
hours.

From: Jessica Gorman [DPMC] <[email address]>
Sent: Thursday, April 3, 2025 10:27 AM
To: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>
Cc: Handley, Georgie <[email address]>; Brendan Gage [DPMC] <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Prisoner voting stats

Kia ora ano Hayley

Some more questions for you please.

  Can you confirm that the numbers in the table are all people serving prison sentences (ie does not
include people sentenced to time served (who were actually in prison on remand) or people who were
sentenced for less than 2 years and successfully applied to be on home detention).
  Any clarification of what is in the “other offences” statistics.

Thanks
Jess

From: Jessica Gorman [DPMC]
Sent: Thursday, 3 April 2025 9:09 am
To: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>
Cc: Handley, Georgie <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Prisoner voting stats

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Document 7
[IN-CONFIDENCE]
Kia ora Hayley

Thanks very much for this information, the last table was particularly helpful.

A couple of questions:

  Can you explain what types of offences are included in the category “15: Offences against justice
ACT 1982
procedures, government security and government operations”
  On your highlighted bullet below, is it possible to get more information about what types of offending
might result in prison sentences as opposed to home detention or intensive supervision sentences?

Thanks
Jess

From: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, 2 April 2025 6:02 pm
To: Jessica Gorman [DPMC] <[email address]>
Cc: Handley, Georgie <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Prisoner voting stats

Kia ora again

INFORMATION
Here’s the bullets re: the upcoming Sentencing Act changes.

         The Sentencing Act changes, which come into effect from July, are forecast to result in:
o   more prisoners currently receiving prison sentences serving longer sentences; and
o   more prisoners who would previously have received home detention or intensive supervision
sentences serving prison sentences.
         Under the existing 3-year prisoner voting disqualification rule, these Sentencing Act changes are expected
to result in an increase in the number of offenders receiving sentences of 3 years or more, and thus being
ineligible to vote.
         Under the proposal to exclude all prisoners from voting these Sentencing Act changes would result in an
even larger increase in the total number of offenders being ineligible to vote.

Nga mihi

Hayley



Hayley Denoual  (she/her)
Policy Manager |Kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa
Democracy and Open Government |Civil and Constitutional Unit
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
  s9(2)(a)

Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
[email address] | justice.govt.nz

‘Chat with me on Teams’

We value and encourage flexible first. While it suits me to send this now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own working
hours.
4
RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL

Document 7

From: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 2, 2025 5:44 PM
To: Jessica Gorman <[email address]>
Cc: Handley, Georgie <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Prisoner voting stats

Kia ora Jessica
ACT 1982

Further to your conversation with Georgie earlier, please find attached an updated note with the additional data
breakdown re: offence type for offenders receiving prison sentences with a sentence of under 3 years (Figure 2 and
Table A1).

We’ll send though the bullets on the potential impact of the upcoming Sentencing Act changes shortly, but wanted
to at least get you the data tables now.

Nga mihi

Hayley



Hayley Denoual  (she/her)
Policy Manager |Kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa
Democracy and Open Government |Civil and Constitutional Unit
INFORMATION
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
  s9(2)(a)

Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
[email address] | justice.govt.nz

‘Chat with me on Teams’

We value and encourage flexible first. While it suits me to send this now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own working
hours.

From: Handley, Georgie <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 2, 2025 1:34 PM
To: Jessica Gorman <[email address]>
Cc: Brightwell, Kathy <[email address]>; Crooke, David <[email address]>; Denoual,
Hayley <[email address]>
Subject: FW: Prisoner voting stats

Kia ora Jess

I understand you requested some data on prisoner voting this morning.  Please find attached some data which I
hope will be helpful.

Let me know if you need anything else

  Ngā mihi


Georgie

Principal Policy Advisor | Democracy and Open Government
Civil and Constitutional Unit | Policy Group
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
s9(2)(a)

  National Office | Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
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Document 7
DX Box SX10088 | Wellington
[email address] | justice.govt.nz


ACT 1982

The information contained in this email message is for the attention of the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view
or communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy
or distribute this message or the information in it. If you have received this message in error, please destroy the email and notify the
sender immediately.


The information contained in this email message is for the attention of the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view
or communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy
or distribute this message or the information in it. If you have received this message in error, please destroy the email and notify the
sender immediately.

INFORMATION

The information contained in this email message is for the attention of the intended recipient only and is not necessarily the official view
or communication of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If you are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, copy
or distribute this message or the information in it. If you have received this message in error, please destroy the email and notify the
sender immediately.

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Document 8
Williamson, Katrina
From:
Handley, Georgie
Sent:
Thursday, 10 April 2025 9:47 am
To:
s9(2)(a)
Cc:
Denoual, Hayley; Botha, Daniel; Brightwel , Kathy; Greaney, Caroline;
[email address]; Naganathan, Anne; Purple, Folder; Huffine, Leigh; Pearce, Ella;
correspondence, official; Crooke, David
ACT 1982
Subject:
Updated papers relating to prisoner voting
Attachments:
20250410 - AM - Paper 4_Electoral Matters Bill_Policy approvals disqualification of
sentenced prisoners from voting.docx; 20250410 - AM - Paper 4_Electoral Matters
Bill_Policy approvals disqualification of sentenced prisoners from voting.pdf;
20250414  CAB - Paper 4 -Appendix 2- Sentenced prisoners by offence seriousness,
sentence length and ethnicity.docx; 20250414 - CAB- Paper 4 - Electoral Matters Bill
– Policy Approvals (disqualification of sentenced prisoners from voting).docx;
20250414 CAB- Paper 4 - Appendix 1 - History of prisoner voting in New Zealand
(1956-2023).pdf; 20250414 - CAB- Paper 4 - Electoral Matters Bill  Policy Approvals
(disqualification of sentenced prisoners from voting).pdf
Kia ora s9(2)(a)

This morning we uploaded a new version of Paper 4, with a new separate appendix 2 (appendix 1 remains the
INFORMATION
same).

Please ﬁnd a ached:
-  word version of Paper 4;
-  A PDF version of appendix 1 rela ng to the history of prisoner vo ng.  (NOTE as this is a powerpoint slide we
don’t have a word version);
-  A word version of appendix 2;
-  A combined PDF of paper 4 and the two appendices;
-  A word version of the aide memoire; and
-  A PDF version of the aide memoire.

I have tried to follow your very helpful email the other day on ge ng papers to the Minister’s oﬃce. Because these
papers are being considered by Cabinet on Monday, I have dated them 20250414.  Let me know if you would prefer
me to date them with today’s date and I can amend.

Any ques ons please let me know

  Ngā mihi

Georgie

Principal Policy Advisor | Democracy and Open Government
Civil and Constitutional Unit | Policy Group
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
s9(2)(a)

  National Office | Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
DX Box SX10088 | Wellington
[email address] | justice.govt.nz

1
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ACT 1982
INFORMATION
RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL

Document 9
Williamson, Katrina
From:
Denoual, Hayley
Sent:
Monday, 14 April 2025 9:58 am
To:
s9(2)(a)
Cc:
Handley, Georgie; Crooke, David; Brightwell, Kathy; [email address]; Botha,
Daniel; Greaney, Caroline
Subject:
Request for Information: International jurisdictions and Prisoner VotingACT 1982
Attachments:
Judgement Summary - Roach v Electoral Commission.pdf
Kia ora s9(2)(a)

As discussed at the Minister’s mee ng this morning,  the informa on about the UK prisoner vo ng ban is in the
2020 RIA on prisoner vo ng (page 10). In short,  the United Kingdom has a total ban on vo ng for all prisoners
serving a custodial sentence. Prisoners on remand, convicted but not yet sentenced, serving a default term for non-
payment of a ﬁne, commi ed to prison for contempt of court or on community home deten on, can vote.

For ease of reference, I’ve reproduced the relevant sec on of the RIA below:

The disqualiﬁca on is out of step with interna onal jurisprudence
Courts in several jurisdic ons have cri cised blanket bans on prisoner vo ng.
  Australia: In 2006, Australia introduced a complete prohibi on on prisoner vo ng, reversing a par al
INFORMATION
prohibi on that had been in place.21 This prohibi on was overturned by the High Court which found that
the Cons tu on enshrined a limited right to vote22
  United Kingdom: All prisoners are currently disqualiﬁed from vo ng. The prohibi on on prisoner vo ng
has been subject to a number of rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The ECtHR
found a blanket prohibi on was dispropor onate and thus violated the European Conven on on Human
Rights23
  Canada: Currently, all prisoners are eligible to vote. In 2002, the Supreme Court of Canada found that any
prohibi on on prisoners vo ng was uncons tu onal as it was an unreasonable limit on the right to vote.
The Court held that such a prohibi on could not be demonstrably jus ﬁed in a free and democra c
society. 24 This li ed a par al prohibi on allowing persons serving prison sentences of less than two years
to vote federally.25 It also li ed all restric ons on prisoner vo ng at the provincial level.
  Europe: Across Europe, there are no prohibi ons on prisoner vo ng in 22 countries;26 limited and
targeted prohibi ons in 14 countries;27 and complete prohibi ons in 7 countries.28 Several prohibi ons on
prisoners from vo ng have been li ed as a result of recent European Court of Human Rights rulings

_____________
21 The Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 prohibited persons serving prison sentences of one year or longer from voting. This qualification was
relaxed in 1983, and then 1995, to limit the prohibition to persons serving prison sentences of five years or longer.
22 Roach v Electoral Commissioner [2007] HCA 43.
23 Hirst v the United Kingdom (No 2) (2006) 42 EHHR 41 (ECHR).
24 Article 1 of the Charter allows Charter rights to be subject to “reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free
and democratic society”. Section 5 of the NZBORA is based on this.
25 Prisoners had been prohibited from voting since 1898. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which came into effect in 1982,
enshrined the right to vote, which resulted in legal chal enges on the prohibition.
26 Austria, Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova,Monaco, Montenegro,
Netherlands, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine
27 Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania and
Slovakia
28 Armenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Russia and the United Kingdom.

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Document 9
In terms of informa on exchanges with PAG, we provided PAG the informa on in our email below regarding the
Australian rules last week, and in our discussions noted that there was some informa on on the RIA on this too -
no ng that the interna onal posi on covered the full spectrum from  the UK (full ban) to Canada (no ban).

We haven’t discussed the US rules with PAG,  as the situa on in the US regarding prisoner vo ng is much more
complex and so nit is generally not regarded as a good comparison with the New Zealand situa on.  In short thought
the US felony disenfranchisement laws - which refer to the denial of vo ng rights on the basis of a felony convic on
- vary widely across the U.S, because many decisions about punishment are made at the state level. Broadly
speaking though, nearly all states have some form of prisoner vo ng ban for felony convic ons, (and some states
ACT 1982
also for other convic ons), while imprisoned.  Some states restore the right to vote a er prison, or a er prison and
parole, or a er prison and parole and proba on,  but other states impose an ongoing ban on vo ng by anyone
formerly incarcerated.

Nga mihi

Hayley

Hayley Denoual  (she/her)
Policy Manager |Kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa
Democracy and Open Government |Civil and Constitutional Unit
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
s9(2)(a)

INFORMATION
  Justice Centre | 19 Aitken Street
[email address] | justice.govt.nz

‘Chat with me on Teams’

We value and encourage flexible first. While it suits me to send this now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own
working hours.

From: Botha, Daniel <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, April 11, 2025 12:45 PM
To: Jessica Gorman <[email address]>
Cc: Denoual, Hayley <[email address]>; Handley, Georgie <[email address]>;
s9(2)(a)
Crooke, David <[email address]>; Brightwell, Kathy
<[email address]>; Naganathan, Anne <[email address]>; [email address]
Subject: Request for Information: Australian Prisoner Voting

Kia ora Jess,

I understand you requested some informa on about the Australian prisoner vo ng ban.

Sec on 93(8AA) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 provides that a person serving a sentence of
imprisonment of 3 years or longer is not en tled to vote at any Senate or House of Representa ves elec on. While
the Australian High Court overturned the complete prohibi on on prisoner vo ng in Roach v Electoral Commission,
it noted that the Australian Cons tu on enshrined a limited right to vote. I have a ached a judgement summary for
your informa on. The Australian Electoral Commission website also contains some similar informa on on the status
of prisoner vo ng.

Let us know if you have any other ques ons

Ngā mihi,

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Document 9
Daniel Botha (he/him)
Policy Advisor | Constitutional Arrangements and Treaty
Civil and Constitutional Policy
Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
s9(2)(a)

  L6 Justice Centre Building | 19 Aitken Street
DX Box SX10088 | Wellington
[email address] | justice.govt.nz

ACT 1982

INFORMATION
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Document 10.2

Prisoner voting: Communications pack
ACT 1982
Date
Tuesday 29 April 2025

Subject
Communications pack for proposals related to prisoner

voting

This communications pack is intended to support proposals related to prisoner voting in New
Zealand. It contains:
•  Draft media statement
•  Key Messages/Talking Points
•  Q&As

INFORMATION
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Document 10.2

Draft media statement

Government to reinstate prisoner voting ban

The Government has decided to reinstate a total ban on prisoner voting, says Justice Minister Paul
ACT 1982
Goldsmith.

Cabinet’s decision will reverse the changes made by the previous Government in the Electoral
(Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Act 2020, which allowed prisoners serving
sentences of less than three years to enrol to vote.

“Reinstating a ban on prisoners voting reflects the uncomplicated principle that people lose certain
rights when they are sentenced to prison after committing a crime. The proposed change will
establish a consistent approach to prisoner voting, regardless of the length of sentence,” says Mr
Goldsmith.

“The Government is committed to upholding the integrity of the electoral system and strengthening
the societal response to crime by placing a greater emphasis on personal responsibility and
accountability. A total prison voting ban for all sentenced prisoners underlines the importance that
INFORMATION
New Zealanders afford to the rule of law, and the civic responsibility that goes hand-in-hand with
the right to participate in our democracy through voting.”

Mr Goldsmith says the prisoner voting ban will be progressed as part of an electoral amendment
bill announced in April and set for introduction later this year.

The ban will not be retrospective, meaning prisoners already serving sentences of less than three
years at the time the ban comes into force before the 2026 General Election will retain the ability to
vote. The voting ban will not apply to people detained on remand or serving sentences of home
detention.

“When prisoners have served their time, they will enjoy the full restoration of electoral rights. The
Department of Corrections and the Electoral Commission currently coordinate to support prisoners
with re-enrolment upon their release, and this work will continue.”

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Document 10.2

Key Messages/Talking Points
1982

•  Cabinet has decided to reinstate a total ban on prisoner voting.
•  This change reverses the changes made by the previous Government which allowed
ACT
prisoners serving sentences of less than three years to enrol to vote.
•  The Government plans to progress these changes as part of an electoral amendment bill
announced in April and set for introduction later this year.
•  A prisoner voting ban reflects the Government’s greater emphasis on personal
responsibility and accountability.
•  A total prison voting ban for all sentenced prisoners underlines the importance that New
Zealanders afford to the rule of law, and the civic responsibility that goes hand-in-hand with
the right to participate in our democracy through voting.
•  My proposed change will establish a consistent approach to prisoner voting, regardless of
the length of sentence.
INFORMATION
•  The ban will not be retrospective and will apply only to prisoners sentenced to a term of
imprisonment after commencement of the bill. Prisoners currently serving sentences of less
than three years will retain their eligibility to vote under the current rules.
•  The ban will not apply to people serving sentences of home detention, community-based
sentences or those being held in prison on remand.
•  Once prisoners have served their prison sentences, Corrections and the Electoral
Commission will continue to coordinate to ensure that prisoners are able to re-enrol upon
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their release.

THE
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Q&As
1982
The ban on prisoner voting

1.  Why is the Government reinstating a prison voting ban?
ACT
•  Those who commit a crime serious enough to be sentenced to prison have broken a social
contract.
•  Reinstating a total ban on prisoner voting reflects the uncomplicated principle that people
should also lose certain civic rights when they commit a serious crime.
•  Temporarily losing the right to participate in democratic processes will place a greater
emphasis on personal responsibility and accountability, while strengthening the societal
response to crime.

2.  What is the history or background to prisoner voting in New Zealand?
•  There is a long history in New Zealand around prisoner voting, ranging from prisoners
INFORMATION
having full voting rights through to a full ban.
•  Recently, a total voting ban on prisoner voting was reinstated in 2010 with the passing of
the Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoner) Amendment Act 2010.
•  This ban was reversed by the previous Government, through the Electoral (Registration of
Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Act 2020. The 2020 Act allowed prisoners serving
sentences of less than three years to enrol and vote in elections.
•  The ban we propose will be similar to legislation passed in 2010 – the Electoral
OFFICIAL
Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Act 2010.

3.  How will a prisoner voting ban be progressed?
•
THE
  The ban on prisoner voting will be progressed in an electoral amendment bill the
Government is introducing shortly, as part of our focus on improving efficiency, resilience
and timeliness of the electoral system.
•  The package is expected to be in place before the 2026 General Election.

4.  How will the ban work?
•
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  The Electoral Act 1993 will be amended to prohibit all sentenced prisoners from enrolling to
vote in both general and local elections.
•  The ban will only apply to prisoners sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

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1982
5.  Will prisoners be able to stand as candidates?
•  No.  Only those eligible to enrol to vote can stand as candidates in either general or local
elections.

ACT
6.  Will the ban apply to people detained on remand or serving a sentence of home
detention?
•  No – the ban applies only to people sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

7.  Why will the ban only apply to sentenced prisoners?
•  People who have been sentenced to any term of imprisonment have generally committed
some kind of serious crime. Losing the right to participate in some democratic processes
will place a greater emphasis on personal responsibility and accountability, while
strengthening the societal response to crime.
•  People who are detained on remand have not yet been convicted of crime and non-
custodial sentences are generally reflective of less serious offending.
INFORMATION

8.  What evidence have you considered about the nature of offending for prisoners
sentenced to a term of less than three years imprisonment?
•  Department of Corrections data about the nature of offending for prisoners serving less
than three years imprisonment shows that there is a wide range of offences reflected in
prisoners sentenced to less than three years. They include:
OFFICIAL
o  Homicide and related offences
o  Drug offences
o  Fraud, deception and related offences
THE
o  Acts intended to cause injury
o  Robbery, extortion and related offences
•  Prisoners sentenced to terms of imprisonment longer than three years are more likely to
have committed the most serious offences, but that does not mean that prisoners
sentenced to three years imprisonment have not committed serious crimes too, which have
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caused harm and distress to many innocent victims.

9.  Will the ban apply retrospectively?
•  No, the ban will only apply to prisoners sentenced to a term of imprisonment following the
amendment to the Electoral Act coming into force.

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•  Prisoners sentenced to a term of imprisonment of less than three years prior to changes to  1982
the Electoral Act will retain the ability to vote, provided they are not sentenced for a
subsequent offence.

10. How will the Government ensure prisoners are able to re-enrol upon their release?
ACT
•  Currently under the Electoral Act, before a prisoner aged 18 or over is released, prison
managers are required to tell the prisoner they are eligible to be registered as an elector,
and to ask prisoners whether they want assistance to facilitate their registration.
•  Corrections and the Electoral Commission currently coordinate and share information to
support prisoners to enrol, or re-enrol, upon their release.
•  This will not change because of the prisoner voting ban.

11. Who will be responsible for implementation?
•  The Electoral Commission and Corrections will be responsible for implementing these
changes ahead of the 2026 General Election.
INFORMATION

12. How much will reinstating the ban cost?
•  There may be some additional upfront costs for the Electoral Commission and/or the
Corrections to implement these changes. These will be absorbed into existing baselines.
Human rights considerations

New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990
OFFICIAL

13. Is the prisoner voting ban consistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act?
•  I acknowledge that a full ban on prisoner voting is likely to be found to be inconsistent with
the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, and therefore attract a Section 7 report under that Act.
THE
•  Whether the ban will attract a section 7 report will be determined by the Attorney-General at
the time the amendments are introduced into the House.

14. What is a section 7 report?
•  Pursuant to section 7 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, and under Standing Order 269
the Attorney-General must present a report to Parliament if any provision in a Bill appears
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to be inconsistent with any of the rights affirmed in the Bill of Rights Act.

15. How might the prisoner voting ban be inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of
Rights Act?
•  It is likely that the ban will be found inconsistent with section 12 (the right to vote) because
the 2010 Act was found to be inconsistent with that right. The Bill also raises questions

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about freedom from discrimination under section 19 because of its disproportionate effect
1982
on Māori.
•  It is unlikely that any finding of inconsistency would meet the test set out in section 5 of the
Bill of Rights Act, relating to reasonable limits as can be justified.
ACT
•  However, I believe that any determination by the Courts or a possible section 7 report that
the Attorney-General presents to Parliament is outweighed by the signal a temporary loss
of voting eligibility sends to those sentenced for a serious crime.

16. What rights are affirmed in section 12 of the Bill of Rights Act?
•  Section 12 affirms that every New Zealand citizen over the age of 18 has, among other
things, the right to vote in elections and qualifies to stand as a candidate in elections.

17. What rights are affirmed in section 19 of the Bill of Rights Act?
•  Section 19 affirms that everyone has the right to freedom from discrimination on the
grounds of discrimination in the Human Rights Act.
•
INFORMATION
  Section 21 of the Human Rights Act lists prohibited grounds of discrimination, which
includes, among other things, sex, religious belief, colour, race, ethnic or national origin,
and disability.
•  A prisoner voting ban is potentially discriminatory because Māori are over-represented in
the prison population, and a total ban on prisoner voting rights would disproportionately
disenfranchise Māori.

OFFICIAL
18. Did the last time a total ban was imposed in 2010 attract a section 7 report?
•  Yes. The then Attorney-General noted that, although the right to vote was not necessarily
absolute, the total disqualification of all prisoners was inconsistent with the electoral rights
affirmed by section 12 of BORA and could not be justified under section 5 of the Act.
THE
•  Section 5 states that the rights affirmed in BORA may be subject to reasonable limits as
can be “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”.
•  The Attorney-General did not discuss any potential inconsistency with section 19 of BORA.
Section 19 affirms every New Zealander’s right to freedom from discrimination.

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19. What have the New Zealand Courts said about a prisoner voting ban?
•  In its 2018 decision on Taylor v Attorney-General, the Supreme Court found that a total
disqualification of prisoner voting places an unreasonable limit on electoral rights
guaranteed under BORA. The Supreme Court upheld declarations of inconsistency issued
by the High Court in 2015 (and upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2017).

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International Human rights commitments
1982

20. Are you concerned that reinstating a prisoner voting ban will affect New Zealand’s
international standing on human rights?
•  I acknowledge that in November 2023, the UN Human Rights Committee said the total
ACT
prisoner voting ban implemented by the 2010 Act breached article 25(b) of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which relates to the right to vote.
•  Officials have also advised that the ban may also be inconsistent with New Zealand's
obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (especially article 5(c), which affirms the right to be free from discrimination
in respect of voting rights), and the Declaration on the Rights on Indigenous Peoples.
•  The Human Rights Committee is not a further appellate tier of the New Zealand court
system and its views are not enforceable domestically. In addition, this Government
adopted the view in the Coalition Agreement between National and New Zealand First that
UNDRIP has no binding legal effect on New Zealand.
•  A ban on prisoner voting rights is consistent with this Government’s commitment to
INFORMATION
upholding the integrity of the electoral system and respect for the rule of law.
Impact on Māori

21. Will a prisoner voting ban affect Māori?
•  Māori are disproportionately represented in New Zealand’s prison population.
•  Some may argue that the disproportionate representation of Māori in New Zealand’s prison
population means the prisoner voting ban will affect Māori more than non-Māori.
OFFICIAL
•  However, the number of Māori in prison at any given time accounts for less than one
percent of the Māori population. It is difficult to see how such low numbers could give any
material disadvantage to Māori as a whole.
THE

22. How do you respond to the Waitangi Tribunal’s previous report on this issue?
•  In 2018 the Waitangi Tribunal considered three claims that sought the repeal of total ban on
prisoner voting. It released He Aha i Pērā Ai? The Māori Prisoners’ Voting Report in 2019.
•  I note that the Tribunal’s view was that the ban was inconsistent with the purpose of the
corrections system and prejudiced the rehabilitation and reintegration of Māori prisoners. It
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held this to be inconsistent with the principle of active protection.
•  The Tribunal also held that Māori were prejudicially affected, and that the ban was a
serious Treaty breach because Māori are significantly more incarcerated than non-Māori,
especially for less serious crimes.
•  While I respect the Tribunal’s view, I do not agree that a prisoner voting ban wil  result in a
material disadvantage for Māori.

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Impact on prisoners
1982

23. How many prisoners will be affected by the ban?
•  As the ban will only come into effect after its commencement it is difficult to say exactly how
many prisoners will be affected.
ACT
•  However, officials estimate that, as at 28 March 2025, 2,107 prisoners were serving a term
of imprisonment for under than three years.  This does not include prisoners on remand.
•  This constitutes 0.049% of the total voting population (as at 31 March 2025).
Other matters

24. Why does the current ban on prisoner voting only apply to prisoners sentenced to
three or more years imprisonment?
•  Having the ban effective for prisoners sentenced to a term of three or more years
imprisonment reflects two things:
INFORMATION
o  Firstly, the three-year limitation on electoral rights is consistent with other sections
of the Electoral Act around enrolment. For example, New Zealanders living
overseas for more than three years cannot vote in elections. When a prisoner is
sentenced to prison, they are effectively removed from society.
o  Secondly, the last Government took the position that a prison sentence of three
years or more reflected the serious nature of offending.
•  A sentence of imprisonment for any length reflects the serious nature of someone’s
offending which warrants a strong response.
OFFICIAL

25. Does a prisoner voting ban impose an additional punishment to incarceration?
•
THE
  Some people believe that a sentence of imprisonment is punishment enough for serious
offending and that removing other civil rights not taken away with incarceration amounts to
an additional and disproportionate punishment.
•  The purpose of the ban is to underline the importance that New Zealanders afford to the
rule of law, and the civic responsibility that goes hand-in-hand with democratic participation.

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26. What other comparable countries ban prisoners from voting?
1982
•  New Zealand is one of many countries that has adopted either a partial or complete ban on
prisoner voting.
•  For example:
ACT
o  the United Kingdom has a total ban on voting for all prisoners serving a custodial
sentence. Prisoners on remand, convicted but not yet sentenced, serving a default
term for non-payment of a fine, committed to prison for contempt of court or on
community home detention, can vote.
o  Australia has a partial prisoner voting ban for federal elections for people serving a
sentence of imprisonment for 3 years or longer, and the states of Victoria and
Tasmania have prisoner voting bans for state and local elections for prisoners
sentenced to a term of imprisonment of five (Victoria) or three (Tasmania) years.
27. What comparable countries do not have a prisoner voting ban?
•  There are some countries that do not have a prisoner voting ban at all, including Canada,
Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden, and others.
INFORMATION
•  Individual countries will make their own decisions around the voting eligibility of prisoners.

28. Will the ban apply to people who have committed a crime but are detained in a
hospital or secure facility on mental health grounds?
•  The Electoral Act says a person who has committed a crime but is detained for more than
three years in a hospital or secure facility on mental health grounds or due to an intellectual
disability, also loses the right to vote.
OFFICIAL
•  I have sought advice from officials on whether the prisoner voting ban should also apply to
people who are committed to a hospital or secure facility after committing a crime.

THE
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