Judges pass prisoners’ vote question back to Parliament

The Court of Appeal has swatted the question of prisoners voting rights back to MPs. A 2010 law change extended the prisoner voting ban to inmates serving less than three years. The court confirmed that the change was an unjustified inconsistency with the Bill of Rights voting guarantee. Five judges dismissed the Attorney-General’s appeal but in itself it did not increase the chance of prisoners voting in September. It said the declaration was part of a ‘‘dialogue’’ with Parliament.