In California, voters will consider three separate criminal justice ballot initiatives. | Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Voters are being asked whether they want to scale back mass incarceration.
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The United States incarcerates more people than any country in the world — even more than authoritarian regimes like China, Cuba, and Russia. Over the past decade and a half, criminal justice reformers, led by leaders of both political parties, have moved to scale back the country’s system of mass incarceration. Voters have a chance to continue that work on Election Day.
In Oklahoma, voters could ban harsh sentencing enhancements that can keep people in prison longer for nonviolent crimes. In California, voters will consider three measures: one to affirm the end of cash bail, another to let people vote while on parole, and a third to roll back recent criminal justice reforms. In Nebraska and Utah, voters could prohibit slavery as a criminal punishment, including forced prison labor. And in Kentucky, voters could approve a controversial crime victims’ rights law.
Not all of these are for reform as many people think of it today. Some of the initiatives, particularly in California and Kentucky, have been criticized by activists seeking to end mass incarceration and the war on drugs.
But depending on how voters decide on these initiatives, they could continue the broader work of the past decade to fix America’s punitive criminal justice system.
Oklahoma Question 805
A yes vote would ban harsh sentencing enhancements for people with a record of nonviolent crimes, which in some cases could add years — up to life — to a prison sentence.
A no vote would leave current sentencing enhancements in place.
California Proposition 17
A yes vote on Proposition 17 would restore the right to vote for people on parole — which could have allowed nearly 120,000 people in the state to vote in this year’s election.
A no vote would mean those on parole would continue to be prohibited from voting.
California Proposition 20
A yes vote on Proposition 20 would roll back recently passed criminal justice reforms, elevating several crimes — particularly types of theft and fraud — so they can be charged as felonies, rather than only misdemeanors. It would also make it harder for certain inmates to qualify for parole, and make it easier to lock people up for a probation violation.
A no vote would keep the recently passed reforms on the books.
California Proposition 25
A yes vote on Proposition 25 would end the use of cash bail and replace it with a risk assessment system.
A no vote would mean cash bail remains in the state.
Nebraska Amendment 1
A yes vote would ban slavery and involuntary servitude as criminal punishments.
A no vote would mean slavery and involuntary servitude could still be used as criminal punishments.
Utah Amendment C
A yes vote would ban slavery and involuntary servitude as criminal punishments.
A no vote would mean slavery and involuntary servitude could still be used as criminal punishments.
Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 1
A yes vote would mean the adoption of Marsy’s Law, a controversial measure that would enshrine specific crime victims’ rights into law.
A no vote would mean Kentucky would not adopt Marsy’s Law.
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