It’s election day at prisons and jails across the country, and as inmates cast their ballots behind bars, a Canadian senator is trying to break down barriers so they can make an informed choice.
Twenty-three years after prisoners won the right to vote, Sen. Bernadette Clement visited nine correctional facilities to prepare a report about the challenges that still exist for elections held inside.
On Wednesday, she visited the Collins Bay Institution in Kingston, Ont., to observe the process firsthand.
“The reason that vote is important is because their stories are still being written,” Clement said during an interview with Radio-Canada the day before.
Despite being incarcerated, inmates still want to advocate for the needs of their families, communities and the institutions they’re in, according to the senator.
“The right to vote is about that connection,” she explained. “[It’s] about that continuing journey they want to have toward rehabilitation and reintegration.”
Statistics from Elections Canada show 34,340 incarcerated electors — roughly 41 per cent — voted in the 2021 election, compared to a voter turnout of around 62 per cent for the rest of Canada.
Nearly 40 per cent of inmates cast a ballot in 2019 and just more than 50 per cent in 2015.
“I would say the biggest obstacle around this right to vote is access to information,” Clement said.
Inmates do have access to TV, but they’re looking for more than political ads come election time, the senator said.
“They want to have unfiltered information,” she explained. “They want to be able to access platform information, or party websites, but they can’t do that because there is no internet access.”
Another barrier is where inmates vote, which isn’t always straightforward. While place of residence establishes the riding for most people, inmates don’t cast a ballot based on where they’re living.
Instead, Elections Canada accepts the first of the following places for which a prisoner can supply a mailing address.
“[It] means that they can’t vote on issues concerning their institution,” Clement said. “They can’t vote in the riding where they’ll spend, many of them, many, many, many years of their lives.”
A spokesperson for Elections Canada said after every election a report is submitted to Parliament on ways the voting experience can be improved, but it’s up to Parliament to actually make any changes.
Correctional Service Canada (CSC) declined an interview. In an emailed statement, the department said it ensures offenders are aware of their right to vote and given an opportunity to do so by registering for a special ballot.
Elections Canada staff set up polling stations with complete lists of candidates at CSC facilities where prisoners can vote between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Candidates or campaign volunteers are able to visit prisons, provided they follow the rules, and can even arrange for a meeting room, where inmates can stop by on a voluntary basis.
CSC said those seeking office can also leave campaign literature that will be shared in common areas, such as the library.
It took two Supreme Court challenges and nearly 20 years of fighting led by Rick Sauvé, a former inmate at Collins Bay, to secure inmates the right to vote in 2002 regardless of the length of their sentence.
Clement said her report was inspired by Sauvé, who has spent decades following his 17 years in prison working with organizations including the St. Leonard’s Society and Queen’s Prison Law Project to advocate for inmates.
Sauvé said his family was always interested in politics and recalled handing out flyers to help his dad campaign for town council.
That passion didn’t suddenly disappear when he started serving a life sentence for murder.
“All the things that concern people outside of prison are the same concerns that people inside prison have,” he said, adding as citizens, inmates have the right to vote and challenge their government.
“There’s so many people in prison that already feel disenfranchised,” he explained. “Indigenous people, people of colour, minority groups, they already feel they don’t have a stake in society.”
As for those who feel anyone who’s committed a crime don’t deserve a vote, Sauvé said prison isn’t an “exclusive group,” adding that denying people the chance to participate in democracy is an obstacle to rehabilitation.
“If you keep telling people that are inside prison that they’re not worthy to have those civil rights, you’re telling them that they’re not worthy to be in the community,” he said.
Sauvé said there’s a “buzz” inside during election time that “takes you out of prison” by allowing inmates to focus on politics and platforms.
“It made me feel … somewhat whole again when I got to vote,” he said.
