Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law

"The United States may have the world's most restrictive criminal disenfranchisement laws...A few countries restrict the vote for a short period after conclusion of the prison term: Finland and New Zealand, for example restrict the vote for several years after completion of sentence, but only in the case of persons convicted of buying or selling votes or of corrupt practices. Some countries condition disenfranchisement of prisoners on the seriousness of the crime or length of their sentence. Others, e.g., Germany and France, permit disenfranchisement only when it is imposed by a court order.

Many countries permit persons in prison to vote. According to research by Penal Reform International, prisoners may vote in countries as diverse as the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and Zimbabwe. In Germany, the law obliges prison authorities to encourage prisoners to assert their voting rights and to facilitate voting procedures. The only prisoners who may not vote are those convicted of electoral crimes or crimes (e.g. Treason) that undermine the "democratic order," and whose court-imposed sentence expressly includes disenfranchisement." -From, "Convicted Felons Deserve The Right To Vote" By: Fellner & Mauer