“Court reverses prisoner vote ban”

This news report begins: “IN A landmark decision supporting Australians’ right to vote, the High Court has struck down a Federal Government ban on all prisoners voting at elections. A majority on the bench accepted a claim by a Victorian Aboriginal prisoner, Vickie Lee Roach, that the ban was unconstitutional. The ban on all prisoners was imposed by the Howard Government in changes to the Commonwealth Electoral Act in 2006. Previously, only prisoners serving sentences of more than three years were prevented from voting.” The High Court issued this release, but the opinion is not yet released: “The court did not explain its reasoning. That is expected to come with a full judgement in the next few months. In recognition that an election is looming, it issued orders saying the ban was unconstitutional because it was contrary to requirements that Parliament be directly chosen by the people.”

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