Jersey’s prison authorities were not consulted before major legislative proposals were lodged to extend voting rights to all prisoners – a move that could place significant operational and financial strain on the island’s prison system, according to the Home Affairs Minister.
Deputy Mary Le Hegarat confirmed the oversight in a letter to the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel this week.
She raised concerns about the resourcing implications of the legislative reform, which aims to end the current ban on voting for prisoners serving more than four years.
The principles of the amendment, brought forward by the Privileges and Procedures Committee, were backed overwhelmingly in the Assembly last month – with 44 votes in favour and one against.
But Deputy Le Hegarat this week confirmed that the States of Jersey Prison Service had not been consulted about the legislation before it was presented to politicians.
The Minister said the proposed reform would require additional staffing and administrative support.
“The service would require additional resources to facilitate an extension of voting rights to all prisoners based in Jersey,” she explained.
Deputy Le Hegarat also noted that prison staff had previously registered eligible prisoners with St Brelade’s Parish Hall, which already demanded extra administrative effort.
“Therefore, increasing the scope of those eligible would require increased resourcing for staff,” she explained, adding that there would be ongoing challenges in keeping the electoral roll up to date as inmates come and go.
The Minister also highlighted cost implications tied to the initiative, noting that officers would need to manage candidate visits and postal voting logistics.
“Officers will be required to supervise visits from election candidates as well as cover the cost of postage, assuming postal votes will be preferable,” she said.
“Additionally, if all election candidates visited the prison or wanted to meet with the prison population via Teams, it would require additional staff resourcing, supervision and management.”
If enacted, the changes would align Jersey with expectations from the European Court of Human Rights, and mirror existing policies in Guernsey and the Isle of Man – both of which already permit all prisoners to vote.