Citizens (Even) in Prison
In nineteen of the states contracted to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), citizens serving terms of imprisonment retain the right to vote; in seven, serving prisoners are barred from voting; in twenty-one, some may lose the right to vote.1 In some American states those who serve prison terms for felonies lose the right to vote not only while in prison, but for life. The Netherlands is one of the states that permits selective disenfranchisement of prisoners (a provision that is applied, sparingly, by judges in passing sentence); Britain is one of the states that denies the vote to all prisoners.