 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Referendum to Overturn a 2018 Law That Replaced Money Bail System with A System Based on Public Safety Risk | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Proposition 25, officially theReferendum to Overturn a 2018 Law That Replaced Money Bail System with A System Based on Public Safety Risk, is aCalifornia ballot proposition that appeared on the ballot forthe general election on November 3, 2020.[1] The "no" side prevailed, resulting in retention of the system ofcash bail in the state.[2]
The proposition was a veto-referendum that was placed on the ballot by the American Bail Coalition.[3] Placed on the ballot via petition, it is a referendum on 2018's Senate Bill 10, which would have replaced the state's cash bail system with a risk assessment-based bail system, which uses an algorithm to determine whether a suspect should be released.[4] SB 10 had been signed into law in August 2018, and had been scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2019.[5]
A "yes" vote on Proposition 25 was to uphold the contested legislation to replace cash bail with risk assessments, and a "no" vote was to repeal the contested legislation, and continue the system of cash bail.[3]
As of 2019, California used a cashbail system to release criminal suspects awaiting trial and to ensure that they return for their court dates. On August 28, 2018, then governorJerry Brown signed SB10, which ended the use of cash bail, replacing it with a risk assessment. The American Bail Coalition, a trade association, organized and led the effort to repeal this legislation.[3]
TheCalifornia Democratic Party supported the Yes on Proposition 25 campaign, as did GovernorGavin Newsom and Assembly speakerAnthony Rendon. In addition, theService Employees International Union and theCalifornia Medical Association supported Yes on Proposition 25.[6]
Various groups argued against Proposition 25, and hence against SB10.
TheCalifornia Peace Officers' Association and the California Bail Agents Association opposed SB10.[why?]
In addition, civil rights advocates argued that the algorithm should not be used for release decisions, and that SB10 did not sufficiently address supposed racial biases in the criminal justice system. The California Conference of theNAACP andHuman Rights Watch opposed SB10 for similar reasons.[6]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | For Prop. 25 (uphold bail reform law) | Against Prop. 25 (repeal bail reform law) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies/LA Times | September 13–18, 2019 | 3,945 (LV) | ± 2% | 39% | 32% | 29% |
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| For | 7,232,380 | 43.59 |
| Against | 9,358,226 | 56.41 |
| Blank votes | 1,194,545 | - |
| Total | 17,785,151 | 100 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 22,047,448 | 80.67 |
| Source:elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov | ||
  | ThisCalifornia elections-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
