Prisoner voting: consultation

Other Council of Europe Member States

The situation with regards to prisoner voting differs across Europe. Of the member states of the Council of Europe, a limited number have a blanket ban on prisoner voting; these are: Andorra, Armenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Russia and San Marino. 21 of the remaining member states allow all prisoners to vote, while 18 allow some prisoners to vote, with each member state determining its own rules on this matter. A table containing this information is shown below:

Council of Europe states with blanket bans on convicted prisoners voting
Andorra
Armenia
Bulgaria
Estonia
Georgia
Hungary
Russia
San Marino

Council of Europe states where all prisoners can vote
Albania
Austria
Azerbaijan
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
Ireland
Latvia (excluding local elections)
Lithuania
FYR Macedonia
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
Norway
Serbia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland

Council of Europe states where some prisoners can vote
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Cyprus
France
Greece
Germany
Iceland
Italy
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malta
Poland
Romania
Portugal
Slovakia
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom

A full summary of the arrangements regarding prisoner voting in Council of Europe member states can be found in the appendices of the following House of Commons briefing paper, starting on p.52:

http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01764/SN01764.pdf