California voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to reverse course on progressive criminal justice reform, cracking down on theft crimes and the use of the deadly drug fentanyl. Proposition 36 reforms a law approved a decade ago that reduced some felonies to misdemeanors and was seen as a milestone in California’s attempt to end the harsh tough-on-crime policies of the past, the Los Angeles Times reports. Support for Proposition 36 comes amid rising concerns about crime, homelessness and drug use in the state, an issue seized upon by Republicans and some big-city Democratic mayors.
“For more than a decade, California voters have urged state leaders to reduce excessive incarceration and wasteful spending on prisons and expand investments into programs proven to prevent crime in the first place and stop crime cycles through rehabilitation,” said Anthony York of the No on 36 campaign. “The broad coalition of organizations that opposed Prop. 36 will continue to advocate for smart and effective criminal justice reform and new safety solutions that work for all communities.” Millions of dollars were raised on both sides of Proposition 36, and it was so politically tricky that Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, a former California attorney general, refused to say whether she supported it. Opinion polls leading up to Tuesday’s election showed strong voter support for Proposition 36 despite warnings from Gov. Gavin Newsom and the legislature’s Democratic leadership, who urged voters to take a cautious approach to the ballot measure, saying it would take away state savings that are allocated to anti-recidivism programs and dramatically increase prison populations.