Parliament is going to debate a Bill that would stop prisoners voting in an election - even if they were in jail for a day.
Under current law prisoners serving sentences of more than three years can't vote, but National MP Paul Quinn wants to change that.
His member's Bill has been drawn from the ballot and will go on Parliament's agenda for a first reading.
He said today National's caucus had supported his Bill going into the ballot and he was confident it would have the numbers to get through its first reading and go to a select committee for public submissions.
"My bill proposes that anyone in prison, for one day or more, will not be able to vote," he said.
"I've held a view for a long time that people in prison have transgressed against society and as part of their punishment they shouldn't be able to vote."
Current law, and Mr Quinn's Bill, applies to people serving a sentence in jail and not before conviction or after release.
Mr Quinn's simple, two-page Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Bill amends the Electoral Act 1993.
He said that before the Act was introduced, no prisoner could vote.
The change was made on a recommendation from a Royal Commission.
"The Royal Commission took the view that three years would be the point at which they would lose the vote. That's what I'm putting up for debate and I don't agree with it," he said.
"Let's face it - going to prison means you've committed a serious crime."
The ACT Party, which has strong law and order policies, is expected to back the bill and with National MPs behind it as well it should have a comfortable majority on its first reading even if Labour opposes it.
