California voters approved a new ballot measure aimed at tackling retail theft and drug use, effectively reversing certain aspects of a law enacted nearly a decade ago, as reported by The Associated Press and other sources.
Proposition 36, which increases penalties for retail theft and drug possession while also mandating treatment for specific drug-related felonies, is projected to pass. This measure overturns parts of 2014’s Proposition 47, which has faced criticism from some as unsuccessful in reducing crime.
Crime rates in California have surged in recent years, with robberies up by 3.8% and shoplifting increasing by nearly 40% in 2023, according to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). Violent crime also remains elevated, showing a 15.4% increase in 2023 compared to 2019 levels.
Vice President Kamala Harris, a California native, did not comment on her stance regarding the measure, nor did she disclose how she voted on Proposition 47.
Proposition 36 received support from several prominent groups, including the California District Attorneys Association, California State Sheriffs’ Association, the Republican Party of California, and Democratic San Francisco Mayor London Breed. The California division of the National Federation of Independent Business, representing small businesses, also endorsed the initiative.
The campaign supporting the measure, Yes on 36, argued that it would ensure “real accountability for those drug traffickers and criminals who repeatedly steal,” according to their website.
In contrast, opponents of the measure cautioned that repealing Proposition 47 would “reignite the failed war on drugs” and waste “tens of millions of dollars on jails and prisons,” as stated on the No on 36 website.
Public sentiment appeared favorable toward Proposition 36 in the lead-up to the vote. An August poll indicated that 56% of Californians supported the measure, and by October, support had risen to 60%, according to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released on Nov. 1.
Governor Gavin Newsom, a vocal opponent of the proposition, criticized it as “mass incarceration, not mass treatment,” according to a September report by the San Francisco Chronicle. He advised voters to “take the time to understand what they’re supporting,” The Sacramento Bee reported.
Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for a comment on the measure’s passage.
