Contemporary Dimensions of Criminal Disenfranchisement
This chapter examines European disenfranchisement policies, aiming to uncover their characteristics and use them as models for the normative discussion. It considers the legislation in 43 European countries along four dimensions: the prevalence of restrictions; dominant notions of “disenfranchise-able” offender; extent of restrictions; and timing, length, and manner of imposition of restrictions. The analysis uncovers a great deal of diversity across Europe: while the rights of many criminal offenders remain intact, most countries nevertheless believe that some instances of criminal offending warrant restrictions. The chapter finds that three-quarters of European countries impose some restrictions, one-third disenfranchise all prisoners, one-half restrict both active and passive electoral rights, one-third employ post-penal disenfranchisement, while one-quarter permit a permanent ban. Comparing these data to the US states—which are often considered incomparably strict—the chapter suggests that the difference is only in the degree of restrictions and not in the kind of existing policies.