California Voters Pass Tougher-on-Crime Ballot Measure, Despite Newsom’s Opposition
The measure, which cracks down on certain drug and theft offenses, became a focal point of the election, highlighting crime issues in the Golden State.
California voters approved a tougher-on-crime ballot measure on Tuesday as rampant retail theft and drug issues became a top issue in the Golden State this election season.
The measure, called Proposition 36, would allow law enforcement to pursue felony charges against individuals who commit certain drug or theft-related crimes — such as those who have two prior theft convictions and steal property worth $950 or less, which had been classified as a misdemeanor.
The Associated Press called the race as early vote counts showed the measure leading by wide margins — 70.6 percent of voters support it with 43 percent of votes tallied so far.
The proposition reverses portions of the state’s Proposition 47, which was enacted by voters in 2014 in the hopes of reducing mass incarceration by classifying a number of drug and property offenses as misdemeanors. Yet as the state grappled with smash-and-grab thefts, shoplifting that forced stores to lock up many of their products, and the fentanyl crisis, a wide-ranging coalition of residents, businesses, and civic leaders said the decade-old Proposition 47 led to these “unintended consequences,” including repeat retail theft, store closures, and “difficulty convincing people to seek drug and mental health treatment.”
That coalition argued that by increasing penalties for drug and theft crimes, Proposition 36 would “create real accountability for those habitually breaking these laws and making our communities less safe.”
Ahead of the election, polling indicated that the measure was favored to pass, with 73 percent of likely voters planning to vote for the measure per polling from the Public Policy Institute of California. Out of ten California ballot measures on issues including climate change and minimum wage, the crime proposition is the one voters said they were most interested in, as the Sun reported.
The measure was opposed by top Democrats in the state including Governor Newsom. Critics of the measure, such as the Prison Policy Initiative, said it would be a “big step backwards towards more incarceration” and that it is “projected to grow the state prison population by 35 percent over the next 5 years.” Proposition 36 would “undo a decade of progress towards unraveling mass incarceration without any public safety benefit,” the group argued.
