Constitutional Rights

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Do you know what happens to those of 'no fixed abode'?

I'm not completely sure how it works for prisoners who were homeless, but normally for homeless people, there are a few different ways to determine which ridings they're eligible to vote in.

For instance, shelters are provided with Elections Canada forms that they can give to people who regularly stay there, which the person can bring to the polls so they can use the shelter as their declared place of residence.

A homeless person can also make an official declaration about the area where they generally live... though this has to be witnessed by someone who knows them and can confirm that the declaration is true, so I don't know how it works when someone's making this declaration while in prison.

 

[fantome profane]

I'm not completely sure how it works for prisoners who were homeless, but normally for homeless people, there are a few different ways to determine which ridings they're eligible to vote in.

For instance, shelters are provided with Elections Canada forms that they can give to people who regularly stay there, which the person can bring to the polls so they can use the shelter as their declared place of residence.

A homeless person can also make an offical declaration about the area where they generally live... though this has to be witnessed by someone who knows them and can confirm that the declaration is true, so I don't know how it works when someone's making this declaration while in prison.

I don’t see why it wouldn’t work the same way for those in prison. If they were registered at a homeless shelter before they could vote in that district while incarcerated.

Or perhaps they could use the prison as an address. If the majority of prisoners voted in other districts and only a small percentage voted where the prison is that would not overwhelm the vote.

But we also have to admit that despite our best effort some do fall through the cracks.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

The problem with allowing people in prison to vote is that if you have 5000 inmates in a voting district this could swing an election against the preferences of the local residents.

I feel like I should also point out that I've heard this complaint made about college and university students, who actually can vote in the district where their dorm happens to be. I've never heard it be used as an argument against student voting, though.

 

[fantome profane]

I feel like I should also point out that I've heard this complaint made about college and university students, who actually can vote in the district where their dorm happens to be. I've never heard it be used as an argument against student voting, though.

On that issue I have to say it makes sense to me that if you spend 10 months of the year living in one place that is where you should vote.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I don’t see why it wouldn’t work the same way for those in prison. If they were registered at a homeless shelter before they could vote in that district while incarcerated.

Or perhaps they could use the prison as an address. If the majority of prisoners voted in other districts and only a small percentage voted where the prison is that would not overwhelm the vote.

But we also have to admit that despite our best effort some do fall through the cracks.

Looks like I got some of the details wrong. Maybe I should have gone to the source to begin with:

Definition of Place of Ordinary Residence
For electoral purposes, the incarcerated elector's place of ordinary residence is not the institution in which he or she is serving a sentence. It is the firstof the following places for which the elector knows the civic and mailing addresses:

1. his or her residence before being incarcerated; or
2. the residence of the spouse, the common-law partner, a relative or dependant of the elector, a relative of his or her spouse or common-law partner or a person with whom the elector would live if not incarcerated; or
3. the place of his or her arrest; or
4. the last court where the elector was convicted and sentenced.

Elections Canada Online | Voting by Incarcerated Electors

So it seems there's never a case where they can't figure out where to assign the prisoner's vote.

 

[Subduction Zone]

I said that felons should have a right to vote, mainly because disenfranchisement has such potential for abuse that a hard line should be drawn: if a person is a citizen, then they should have the right to vote, period.

This is especially true with the racially-biased US justice system, where bans on felons and prisoners voting have become a new version of the three-fifths compromise.

As for your spoiler: this doesn't have any bearing on gun control. There's nothing about the idea that we should stop governments from monkeying with voting rights as a political tactic that also implies we should be okay with granting private citizens tools that they can potentially use to oppress their neighbours.

In fact, someone who is truly in favour of personal freedom will support wide voting rights along with responsible gun control.

You got the three fifths compromise backwards. That was not an anti-black compromise, it was anti slavery. The northern states did not think that it was right to count slaves as people. More people means more seats in the House of Representatives which means more political power. Free black people were fully counted. The slave states of course wanted their slave citizens fully counted since it meant more power for them. The compromise lowered the power of the South. Not as much as the North would have liked, but then not as high as the South wanted.

And our justice system is more anti-poor than anti-black. That still does raise some concerns. But I see the felonies committed as a greater wrong than the loss of the voting privilege.

 

[fantome profane]

Looks like I got some of the details wrong. Maybe I should have gone to the source to begin with:


Elections Canada Online | Voting by Incarcerated Electors

So it seems there's never a case where they can't figure out where to assign the prisoner's vote.

Well dar ya go.

 

[Augustus]

I feel like I should also point out that I've heard this complaint made about college and university students, who actually can vote in the district where their dorm happens to be. I've never heard it be used as an argument against student voting, though.

Students choose to live in a place for 3+ years and are part of the local community.

Prisoners are sent wherever and aren't.