Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Election Law
Disproportionate Disenfranchisement Of Aboriginal Prisoners: A Conflict Of Law That Australia Should Address, Megan A. Winder
Disproportionate Disenfranchisement Of Aboriginal Prisoners: A Conflict Of Law That Australia Should Address, Megan A. Winder
Washington International Law Journal
In 2006, Australia’s Parliament banned all prisoners from voting. A year later, Vickie Lee Roach, a female prisoner of Aboriginal descent, challenged the blanket ban promulgated in the 2006 amendment to the Commonwealth Electoral Act of 1918 (“Electoral Act”). Vickie won, but in a limited way. The High Court found an implied right to vote in the Australian Constitution, but held that Parliament could limit such voting, as it did in the Electoral and Referendum Amendment of 2004 (“E & R Amendment”), disenfranchising any prisoner serving three or more years in jail. This Comment argues that the E & R …