 | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Restricts Parole for Non-Violent Offenders. Authorizes Felony Sentences for Certain Offenses Currently Treated Only as Misdemeanors. | ||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
California Proposition 20 was a proposed initiated state statute on the ballot in the2020 California elections. This initiative would have added more crimes to the list of non-violent felonies for which early parole is restricted, and would have required DNA collection for certain misdemeanors.[1]
According to its ballot summary, Proposition 20 would have
Proposition 20 was decisively rejected by 62% of Californians, a margin of 24 percentage points. Observers partly attributed its failure to theGeorge Floyd protests bringing negative attention to punitive criminal justice policies.[2][3]
This measure was being supported by law enforcement unions, grocery store chains, and currentCalifornia State Assembly member and former law enforcement officerJim Cooper.[4]
Proponents cited that these changes are to close exceptions in the original text of Proposition 47 that allowed access to early parole or probation for individuals convicted of sex trafficking of children, rape of an unconscious person, felony assault with a deadly weapon, battery on a police officer or freighter, and felony domestic violence.[5]
The measure was opposed by theChan Zuckerberg Initiative, former governorJerry Brown, and theAmerican Civil Liberties Union.[4] TheLos Angeles Times announced its opposition to the Proposition in October 2020.[6]
Opponents cited the impact that theCOVID-19 pandemic has had on crowded prisons, and argue that prisons should not hold any more people than they already do. In addition, they also cite the disparate impact that America's criminal justice system has onAfrican Americans, a concern that has increased in the wake of themurder of George Floyd.[7]
According to opponents Proposition 20 would have increased the prison population, thereby increasing state and local court, correctional, and law enforcement costs by tens of millions of dollars annually.[8] Had it passed, it would have partially reversed the results ofProposition 47,Proposition 57, and other legislation that have been intended to reduce the prison population and shift the correctional system from a punitive system to a rehabilitative system.[9]
In order to pass, it needs a simple majority (>50%).
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | For Proposition 20 | Against Proposition 20 | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA | September 26–28, 2020 | 588 (LV) | ± 5.4% | 35% | 22% | 43% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | For | Against | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ipsos/Spectrum News | October 7–15, 2020 | 1,400 (A) | ± 3% | 59% | 25% | 16% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | For | Against | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ipsos/Spectrum News | October 7–15, 2020 | 1,400 (A) | ± 3% | 61% | 24% | 15% |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)