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Convicted killer John Hirst, who took the government to court over the issue, spoke to the BBC in 2010
Ministers are to set out plans for legislation on the issue of whether prisoners should be allowed the vote.
The government is responding to a European Court of Human Rights ruling that a blanket ban on prisoners serving custodial sentences voting is unlawful.
MPs voted in February to uphold the ban, and David Cameron has said his government will not extend the vote.
But ministers are said to be trying to find ways to head off a confrontation with the court.
By announcing an intention to legislate that potentially could end up watering down the blanket ban, ministers hoped the move would satisfy the ECHR, the BBC's deputy political editor James Landale says.
At the moment, only prisoners on remand are entitled to vote.
The prime minister has said the prospect of enfranchising others makes him "physically ill", and the vast majority of MPs from all parties want to see the blanket ban maintained.
The UK has been on a collision course with Strasbourg since 2005, when the ECHR ruled that the ban was a breach of human rights, following a challenge by John Hirst, who is serving a life sentence in the UK.
'Consequences'As part of its obligation as a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights, the government must make clear by 16:00 GMT on Friday how it intends to comply with the judgement.
The Council of Europe - which oversees the ECHR - has said the UK is obliged "to introduce legislative proposals to amend the electoral law imposing a blanket restriction on voting rights of convicted prisoners in prison and achieve compliance with the court's judgement".
In February, MPs voted by 234 to 22 to keep the blanket ban, in response to a government proposal to give the vote to offenders sentenced to a custodial sentence of less than four years.
The coalition subsequently indicated it would respect Parliament's wishes by doing the minimum needed to comply with the ECHR ruling.
Last month, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said Parliament had a "clear right" not to accept the ECHR's ruling but there would be "consequences" for the UK's position in Europe if MPs chose to defy the judgement.
Updating MPs on Thursday, Mr Grayling is expected to announce plans for draft legislation consisting of three options - keeping the existing blanket ban, giving the vote to convicted prisoners serving up to six months, or giving it to those serving up to four years.
Our correspondent said a draft bill would take a long time to consider and was unlikely to be presented to Parliament as part of a government legislative programme until May 2014 when the proximity of an election - scheduled for May 2015 - could cast doubt on its future.
Meanwhile, the BBC's legal affairs correspondent, Clive Coleman, said not complying with the EHCR could lead to thousands of compensation claims by prisoners.
"That would be hugely politically embarrassing for the government, but it may feel that that's a price worth paying for standing firm in the face of the European courts' ruling.
"Those claims could go on in perpetuity - it could literally be the tap that never stops running. We've got 86,000 prisoners in the UK, it could be a lot of public money in legal payments and legal fees."
'Rule of law'He added that an option for the UK government would be to leave the Council of Europe, but that neither party wanted that to happen.
"Leaving [the council] would put the UK in a human rights club with Belarus.
"The damage [to the UK] is reputational. Around the world we might be seen as a government that doesn't respect the rule of law," our legal correspondent said.
The draft bill is expected to refer not just to prisoners' voting rights in general and local elections in the UK but also to elections to the European Parliament.
This is because ministers are understood to be mindful of a case before the Supreme Court of England and Wales.
George McGeoch, who is serving a life sentence for murder, is arguing that his rights as an EU citizen are being infringed because he will not be able to vote in the 2014 European parliamentary elections.
Should the Supreme Court decide to enfranchise Mr McGeoch, that would automatically allow thousands of other convicted prisoners around the UK to vote in European and municipal elections and open the door to retrospective compensation claims.
Our political correspondent said the government hoped the draft bill would delay - and ultimately sway - any decision by the Supreme Court.
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