Academic slams NZ’s prisoner voting ban, labels it harmful and counterproductive

An academic has criticised the Government’s plan to reinstate a total ban on prisoner voting, warning that it will not reduce crime and instead sends a harmful message to already marginalised communities.

Dr Emmy Rakete describes the Government’s intention to reinstate the voting ban as a “backwards step”.

Speaking on Pacific Mornings, Rakete says many institutions have clarified to the Crown that such a ban is illegal.

“Incarcerated people are going to pick up this insult, and if the government chooses to spend its time signalling to incarcerated people that it rejects them, they're going to reject society to nobody's benefit,” she says.

The ban was lifted in mid-2020 after the Waitangi Tribunal recommended it to the former Labour-NZ First Government in 2019.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced this week that the Government has agreed to reinstate a complete ban on prisoner voting.

“Citizenship brings rights and responsibilities,” he says. “People who breach those responsibilities to the extent that they are sentenced to jail temporarily lose some of their rights, including the right to vote.

“The proposed change will establish a consistent approach to prisoner voting, regardless of the length of sentence.”

Under the new ban, prisoners already serving sentences of less than three years when the ban takes effect before the 2026 General Election will still be able to vote.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. Photo/Supplied

The ban will not apply to individuals detained on remand or serving home detention sentences.

Currently, Pacific people make up 17 per cent of New Zealand’s prison population but only 8.9 per cent of the total population.

Rakete warns that New Zealand has one of the most complicated legal systems in the world. Conditions will not improve, especially with cuts to the operating allowance for Budget 2025.

“It's not a policy that's going to make anyone's lives better.

“Nobody is in the moment of committing an act of violence and then thinks, hang on, if I do this, I might get my voting rights taken away from me if I get sentenced to a prison term.

“That's simply not how human beings make decisions. It's not going to stop violence or crime from happening.”

Corrections says Waikeria prison is on track to become the largest prison in the country, upon completion of facilities adding more than 1400 beds. Photo/RNZ/Finn Blackwell

Rakete advocates for the abolition of prisons and the implementation of community care, along with better access to mental health treatment.

She cites a community initiative called Pink Hoods, which patrols the local area to ensure safety, as an example of how community-led efforts can improve security.

“It's not a matter really of destroying anything that already exists, but of finding the alternatives that are already in place and giving them the resources that they need to fill the gaps.”

Listen to Dr Emmy Rakete's full interview below.