SACRAMENTO, California, USA. — California voters decided on 10 ballot measures, including one that would make some nonviolent crimes, such as shoplifting, felonies again, and another that would make the state’s minimum wage the highest in the country.
Here’s a look at some of the most consequential propositions presented to voters:
Proposition 36
Frustrated by what they perceive as rampant crime, voters approved an initiative that makes shoplifting a felony again for repeat offenders and increases penalties for some drug charges, including those involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl. The hardline measure also gives judges the authority to order people with multiple drug charges to receive treatment.
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Stickers on the table at a polling station, Tuesday, November 5, 2024, in Atlanta.
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Three-year-old Zayn sits on his father’s shoulders as he casts his vote at the First Presbyterian Church in Dearborn, Michigan, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, during the U.S. election.
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Former president and candidate Donald Trump reflected in bulletproof glass at the end of his speech at a campaign event in Lititz, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, November 3, 2024.
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Republican presidential candidate Former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris shake hands before the start of an ABC News presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. , in Philadelphia.
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Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris at a campaign event at Jenison Field House on the campus of Michigan State University, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in East Lansing, Michigan.
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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump raises a fist at a rally at the Atrium Health Amphitheater, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Macon, Georgia.
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Voters line up to cast their ballots during U.S. Election Day at the Richard and Meg Weekley Community Center, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Cypress, Texas.
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Kristin Scruggs votes at the 146-year-old Buck Creek School on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in rural Perry, Kansas.
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Two-year-old Vesta Avery helps her mother, Alexis Taylor, mark her ballot at PS M811, Mickey Mantle School, in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.
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Traditional Russian wooden Matryoshka dolls depict former U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a souvenir shop in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. .
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Poll worker Sean Vander Waal prepares to open a voting center on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Dearborn, Michigan.
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“I Voted Today” stickers at a voting center in Philadelphia.
The measure partially reverses a progressive law approved by voters in 2014 that reduced several nonviolent crimes to misdemeanors, including theft under $950 and some drug crimes. The reversal reflects growing anger among voters who increasingly blame criminal justice reform and progressive district attorneys for homelessness and shoplifting.
It is difficult to quantify the crime problem in California due to a lack of local data. But many point to videos of large groups of people stealing in plain sight, such as at a boarded-up Nike store in Los Angeles after the Dodgers won the Major League Baseball World Series last week, as evidence of a crisis.
Proponents said the initiative is needed to close loopholes that have made it difficult for law enforcement to punish shoplifters and drug dealers.
“This is a strong message that Californians are ready for safer communities,” said Anne Marie Schubert, co-chair of the coalition supporting the measure.
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Los Angeles, CA, Tuesday, November 5, 2024 – Senator Elect Adam Schiff delivers a victory speech at an election night party hosted by CADEM (California Democratic Party at JW Marriott, downtown. Behind is his wife, Eve. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
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A large flag hangs from the ceiling as people vote at the San Francisco Columbarium & Funeral Home in San Francisco on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (
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Highland Park, CA – November 05: Voterts wait in line to cast their in-person vote at the Arroyo Seco Library polling place on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Highland Park, CA. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Newport Beach, CA – November 05: U.S. Ray White from Anaheim celebrates as results come in indicating that Trump will win the election while attending congress candidates Scott Baugh’s election night viewing event at Muldoon’s Irish Pub on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Newport Beach, CA. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
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BEVERLY HILLS CALIF. NOVEMBER 5, 2024 – Nathan Hochman addresses his supporters at Il Pastiao in Beverly Hills on election night, Nov. 5, 2024. Hochman is challenging incumbent George Gascon to be the District Attorney of Los Angeles County. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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LOS ANGELES-CA-NOVEMBER 5, 2024: Voters cast their ballots at The Music Center in downtown Los Angeles on November 5, 2024. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
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Supporters watch as results come in at an election night campaign watch party for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, on the campus of Howard University in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 5, 2024 – – Ysabel Jurado, running for Los Angeles City Council District 14, gets a high five from a supporter when she arrives at her Election Night Party at Block Party Highland Park on November 5, 2024. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Opponents, including Democratic state leaders and social justice groups, said it would disproportionately imprison poor people and those with substance use problems instead of targeting gang leaders who hire large groups of people to steal merchandise for resale in Internet. The initiative will also eliminate funding for drugs and mental health that comes from savings from incarcerating fewer people.
“Voters wanted solutions, but they were sold a false promise,” said Tinisch Hollins, executive director of the coalition who co-authored the 2014 law. “With this initiative passed and potentially threatening hundreds of millions of dollars to stabilize those programs, we will be much worse than before.”
Proposition 32
This would raise the minimum wage to $18 an hour by 2026, from the current rate of $16 an hour for most people. It was too early to determine the outcome Wednesday morning.
Fast-food restaurant workers already received a pay increase this year to at least $20 an hour, and some healthcare workers now earn a minimum of $23 an hour.
If passed, California would have the highest state minimum wage in the country. In 2016 it became the first state to approve a minimum wage of $15 an hour. About 40 cities and counties already have minimum wages higher than the state rate, and six of them require minimums above $18 an hour starting this year.
Hawaii passed a law in 2022 that raises its minimum wage to $18 an hour by 2028.
Proponents of the California measure estimate it would benefit 2 million workers, including hotel and grocery store employees. Opponents say it would raise costs, lead to higher taxes and push companies to cut jobs.
Proposition 4
California voters approved a plan to borrow $10 billion for various climate programs, the state’s largest investment to date in the fight against climate change.
Most of the money, $3.8 billion, will go toward improving drinking water systems and preparing for droughts and floods. Wildfire preparedness programs will receive 1.5 billion, while 1.2 billion will go to combating sea level rise.
The remainder will be divided between programs on parks and outdoor recreation; air quality; preparation for extreme heat; protection of biodiversity; and sustainability of farms and ranches.
Proponents of the measure say it will help the state better prepare for a changing climate and increasing threats of wildfires, water pollution and extreme heat.
“Californians are taking the lead, choosing to invest now in climate solutions to protect us from fires and floods, build a more resilient future, and preserve the iconic California resources that make our state special,” said Liz Forsburg Pardi, policy director for California at The Nature Conservancy, in a statement.
But opponents of the measure pointed out that the bond is the most expensive way to pay for programs that could have been funded through the state budget.
“California voters are rightly concerned about clean water and wildfire mitigation, but these are problems because Congress and the governor have failed to adequately fund these important priorities in the budget, while spending (or wasting) public dollars. taxpayers in other things,” Susan Shelley, spokeswoman for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said in a statement.
Its amortization will cost taxpayers about 16 billion dollars, in annual installments of 400 million.
Proposition 6
This would change the state Constitution to prohibit forced labor in any form. The constitution currently prohibits it except as punishment for a crime. It was too early to determine the outcome Wednesday morning, but neighboring Nevada approved a similar measure.
That exception has become a target of criminal justice advocates concerned about working conditions in prisons. Incarcerated people often receive less than a dollar an hour to fight fires, clean cells and landscaping cemeteries.
The initiative is included in a package of reparations proposals introduced by lawmakers as part of an effort to redeem themselves and offer reparation for a history of racism and discrimination against black Californians.
Several other states, including Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont, have in recent years passed constitutional amendments eliminating slavery and involuntary servitude exceptions.
