ABSTRACT
The commentary explains why Roach v Electoral Commissioner is one of the most significant cases in recent Australian constitutional history. The case examined amendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 made in 2006 that disqualified any prisoner serving a current sentence from voting in federal elections. A majority of the High Court struck down the change but upheld an earlier amendment that disqualified only prisoners serving sentences of three years or more from voting. The majority held that ss 7 and 24 of the Australian Constitution have come to be a constitutional protection of the right to vote, but this right is subject to exceptions (such as prisoners serving substantial sentences). The judgment has been rewritten in an Indigenous voice, telling Vicki Roach’s compelling personal story and drawing attention to the disproportionate incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The judges argue that the exclusion of prisoners from the franchise is disproportionate and therefore constitutionally invalid, regardless of the length of their sentence.
