How a voting ban on prisoners breaks government commitments to disabled people

Every few years since I’ve been of voting age, I’ve gone down to my local primary school on election day. Rolling past the reception desk on my way to the ballot box, I’ll seek out a self-portrait I painted on a ceramic tile as a 7-year-old that is plastered against a colourful wall in the foyer of the school auditorium.

Not only is it a comforting reminder of more naive, simpler political times but a reminder of how the generations before me paved the way for the rights I have now as a disabled woman living in Aotearoa. 

While voting was initially an exciting activity to roam the halls of my old primary school, the older I get and see the gap between disabled and nondisabled communities, the more I realise the importance of making my voice heard. Voting is no longer a right I take lightly.

However, some of those rights for people in our communities are at risk with the Government announcing a total ban on prisoner voting. The Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the ban is “completely reasonable”. He told media: “this country is built on rights and responsibilities. And if you choose to take the rights but not hold up the responsibilities and find yourself in jail, we are temporarily removing your rights for voting”.

Right now prisoners don’t have it particularly easy, they don't have many rights and voting is one way they can retain agency and engagement with the world around them. Disabled prisoners have it even worse, with a report from Corrections saying that cells are not accessible and a lack of access to appointments leads to worsening health. And because disabled people are overrepresented in the prison population this proposal to remove the right of prisoners to vote will disproportionately affect our community.

Corrections data from 2022 (using the Washington Short Set of Questions on Disability) indicate people in prison with “functional impairments” is 17.3%. This rate is slightly higher than the national average, where about 17% of people living in New Zealand households are identified as disabled using the same method of questioning. The data also shows significant disparities between Māori and non-Māori, with 50.9% of Māori in prison identifying as disabled, further highlighting a disproportionate representation of tāngata whaikaha Māori within the prison system.

While we don’t have a full picture about what prison is like for disabled people, we do know that their first interaction with the justice system through the police is much to be desired. Findings of the Understanding Policing Delivery research indicate police lacked knowledge in disability resulting in harm towards disabled individuals who came into contact with police. The research reported that disabled people’s behaviours are sometimes misunderstood as violent or disorderly by police. Disabled people also shared experiences of force used on them too quickly or inappropriately leading to disability-related distress and dysregulation. I can’t imagine it gets much better in prison.

Currently there is no policy regarding accommodations for disabled prisoners. This is a political issue that disabled prisoners will lose a right to have their say on. Corrections deal with accommodations for disabled prisoners on a case by case basis, but if there was a policy that was implemented through a bill or change to the Corrections Act 2004 then a prisoner’s vote could have a direct impact on that. 

Not only does voter rights impact their living conditions in prison, but it sets them up to exercise their rights outside of prison. Allowing them to vote is a step toward reducing systemic exclusion and marginalisation. Emmy Rakete, spokesperson for People Against Prisons Aotearoa, recently wrote in Newsroom that this policy will “widen the gulf between incarcerated people and the outside world, dividing them further from the rest of society”. 

It’s no surprise research indicates disabled New Zealanders face challenges in political engagement. A 2022 survey by the Office of the Clerk found that 15% of disabled respondents felt Parliament did a very poor job of catering to their needs, compared to 6% of the general population. Additionally, only 33% of disabled New Zealanders felt Parliament was representative of all New Zealanders, versus 43% overall. And while these findings don't provide specific voter turnout figures, they suggest our civic participation is low. So anything we can do to encourage participation – i.e. let us vote in prison – is a good thing.

The Government also has a commitment to uphold Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which requires signatories to "ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others," including the right to vote. Denying disabled prisoners the right to vote is a violation of this article, especially when the way disabled people are treated by the criminal justice system (including by the police) contribute to their political exclusion. 

Excluding disabled prisoners reinforces stigma, undermining both the spirit of democracy and the UNCRPD’s purpose to "promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities."

And while the Prime Minister thinks banning prisoner voting is about “rights and responsibilities” of citizens, perhaps he could address the country’s “rights and responsibilities” to uphold the UNCRPD too.

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