The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has written to nine provincial jurisdictions with large pre-trial and provincial jails in them, including Prince George, reminding them that certain prisoners have the right to vote in November's municipal election.
Prisoners awaiting trial but not yet convicted can hand in ballots, as well as prisoners convicted of a summary offence, such as communicate for the purpose of obtaining the sexual services of a prostitute, cause disturbance and harassing telephone calls.
The civil rights group started this campaign after Kamloops city council turned down a councillor's motion to bring the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre into discussions over special polling designations.
The council members wouldn't even second the motion, effectively freezing them out of the electoral process. It just goes to show how politically distasteful it is to come to aid of a convicted criminal.
Some quick research shows that no B.C. jurisdiction has ever set up a polling station in a prison during a municipal election. So why, after centuries of elections and imprisonment, do these infringements of rights go on without louder protest?
A big part of that is surely the stigma of being branded a criminal - as petty as that crime may be. A vast amount of regular, law-abiding citizens have become disgusted with what's seen as a lax justice system that doles out paltry punishments for serious crimes.
These people are sick to death of hearing about criminals' rights.
The other reasons may be that the criminals themselves either have no desire to participate in an election or don't know they're allowed.
Be that as it may, the Supreme Court ruled in 2002 it's the duty of government to facilitate eligible prisoners' right to vote. Not doing so can open governments up to trouble.
Prince George's staff is currently studying the issue, and they're not the only one. A source at the provincial corrections branch said rules around prisoners and elections are under review.
See, it's not a clean-cut matter. There are some interesting hiccups in the situation - one of which is residency.
If someone is here only for incarceration, but is really a resident of, say, Burns Lake, should he be allowed to vote for Prince George's mayor and council? Should he be allowed to vote for Burns Lake's mayor and council?
If prisoners are allowed to vote for their home town council, must all these municipalities provide a ballot box in prisons where their citizens are incarcerated? Or does the city hosting the prisoner take that responsibility?
The Civil Liberties Association doesn't specify. It does say, however, that should a city ignore their obligation, they will be investigated.
Fair enough. Just because the logistics are not yet sorted, doesn't mean we throw the baby out with the bathwater.
The federal Charter of Rights states "every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein."
Those rights should not be blocked for the sake of inconvenience or touchy politics.
As Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin stated in her judgment on the issue all the way back in 2002, denying prisoners the right to vote denies the core humanity of citizenship and a route back into social integration.
And, she points out, a disproportionate number of prisoners are aboriginal, and so failing to provide prisoners with their right to vote is discriminatory.
One seemingly obvious answer is to allow mail-in ballots, but provincial legislation doesn't provide for that. Yet.
