Proposition 20 Would Undo Crucial Criminal Justice Reforms. We Must Defeat It In November!
By Mike Russo, Managing Director
When Advancement Project California analyzed racial disparities in over forty indicators as part of our RACE COUNTS project, we found the highest level of disparity in California’s incarceration system.
Incarceration rates for Black Californians were fifty times higher than that for whites. Our penal code criminalizes poverty, mental health, and substance abuse conditions, which disproportionately targets low-income communities of color often lacking economic and health resources due to a legacy of disinvestment. Meanwhile, our bloated prison system warehouses tens of thousands of Californians while providing scant resources to help people who have completed their sentences successfully reenter society.
Important reforms have begun to dismantle this unjust system. Proposition 47 reduced several low-level drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. Proposition 57 gave parole boards additional flexibility. These reforms have succeeded in reducing jail and prison populations while helping more Californians stay employed and connected with their families.
And while those who oppose reform, notably self-interested law enforcement unions, claim that these changes have led to increased crime, every study that has examined their impact has concluded that these claims are fear-mongering with no basis in reality.
Unfortunately, opponents of reform are once again using scare tactics to try to move our state backward.
Proposition 20 would undo many of the important changes won through Proposition 47 and 57. The measure is out of step with the tens of thousands of people who have taken to the streets to demand an end to police violence, defunding of police and incarceration systems, and investment in Black communities.
We are proud to join with the coalition of civil rights organizations and crime survivors working to defeat Proposition 20 in November.
Contact Mike Russo, Managing Director, for more information.
This November, Californians will consider a set of ballot measures that could reshape our state into a more just and equitable society for generations to come. Here are our endorsements, offered to help move California into that better tomorrow:
- Supporting Proposition 15 (Schools and Communities First)
- Supporting Proposition 16 (Repeal Proposition 209 Affirmative Action Amendment)
- Supporting Proposition 17 (Voting Rights Restoration for Persons on Parole Amendment)
- Supporting Proposition 18 (Primary Voting for 17-Year-Olds Amendment)
- Opposing Proposition 20 (Criminal Sentencing, Parole, and DNA Collection Initiative)
- Supporting Proposition 21 (Local Rent Control Initiative)
- Supporting L.A. County Measure J (Reimagine L.A.)