The suspension of criminally convicted individuals´´´``´ right to vote a critique

Abstract

The Brazilian’s Constitution of 1988 established, in its article 15, item III, the suspension of the political rights to people convicted with a criminal felony, while its effects hold. The present work aim to question the option of the constituent legislator, evaluating such constitutional disposition with the background provided from contemporary and participatory theories of democracy. Next, the suspension of the right to vote for Brazilian citizens convicted criminally will be analyzed through the principles and fundamental rights established in the Constitution itself, in order to verify 366the tension between the original constitutional norm and the content and meaning of the Constitutional text as a whole. It will be briefly presented how other legal-political orders in the world regulate this issue, as well as the position of some Constitutional Courts and international courts when required to decide on conflicts involving the right to vote. Subsequently, the relevance of the right to vote will be emphasized considering the panorama of the brazilian prison system, which has a growing population in recent years and is the scene of numerous violations of human rights. Finally, legislative initiatives proposed in recent years to change the legislation on the subject will be introduced.