Denmark
Capital city — Copenhagen
Country population
i2018Incarceration rate (per 100,000 inhabit…
Type of government
Human Development Index
Name of authority in charge of the pris…
i2019/ ICPRTotal number of prisoners
Prison density
Total number of prison facilities
An NPM has been established
Female prisoners
Incarcerated minors
Percentage of untried prisoners
Death penalty is abolished
Right to vote
Overview
Untried prisoners are allowed to vote
Yes
Convicted people are allowed to vote
Yes
When were inmates granted the right to vote in prison?
the 1930’ies
Prisoners cast their votes
in prison, in public voting stations, by postal vote
In Denmark there is a period before the election day, where everybody are allowed to vote in certain places (the office of the municipal authority) in case the know they will not be able to vote on the election day. Prisoners are encouraged to make use of that opportunity in case they are on prison leave during this period.
If this is not an option, there is an opportunity to vote by post.
Voter turnout rate
Organising the vote
When inmates chose to vote by post, the voting is organized so that two staff members visit the prisoner in the cell and if the prisoner wants to give his vote the note is firstly placed in the envelope with the ID known by the election authority (to secure that one person does not vote twice) and then in an anonymous envelope that secures that the prison system cannot identify who is who.
Inmates are able to vote in privacy
total privacy is to be questioned
There are two officers in the cell to control each other so to say - total privacy is to be questioned.
Any specific incidents have been reported during the time of vote.
The envelope with the vote from each prisoner must be sent to the municipality of residence.
There are occasional events and moments arranged for socialising. These are, however, rare. Television is free in all facilities. Most of the electoral debates, usually televised, are available to all prisoners