Election Results: California voters approve Prop. 36, the anti-crime measure

Proposition 36, a ballot measure addressing crime in California, passed Tuesday night.

As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, 70.4% of people in California voted to pass the measure. Prop. 36 will roll back parts of Prop 47, which was passed in 2014. Prop. 47 downgraded some felonies, like drug possession and thefts worth less than $950, to misdemeanors. It was intended to get low-level offenders into rehabilitation programs. However, critics of the proposition said it convinced thieves they wouldn’t face consequences for stealing.

Prop. 36 will eliminate the $950 threshold for thefts. If somebody is caught stealing three times, they could be charged with a felony under Prop. 36. The amount of merchandise stolen will no longer be a factor. The same rule would apply for a third drug possession charge. 

It will also allow judges to sentence drug dealers who are convicted and who traffic in large quantities of hard drugs, or who are armed with a gun while trafficking to state prison. A new category of crime called a “treatment-mandated felony” will also be created. This will give eligible convicted drug offenders an option for treatment instead of jail time. 

Proponents of the measure said it will increase jail sentences and make streets safer.  They also said it’ll hold thieves and drug users accountable in California. Opponents of the measure said it would mark a return to “tough on crime” policies that won’t address the intended  goals of reducing homelessness and crime. 

Prop. 36 is expected to cost California hundreds of millions of dollars per year.  

The Associated Press declared that Prop. 36 passed just over an hour after polls closed at 8 p.m. in California.