A majority of likely California voters support tougher penalties for theft- and fentanyl-related crimes, according to a new poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies co-sponsored by The Times.
Poll results released Friday showed 56% of Californians would support Proposition 36, an initiative on the November ballot that would impose stricter sentences for repeat robbery and crimes related to the deadly drug fentanyl.
The proposal has been at the center of a battle at the state Capitol this year, as Republicans and law enforcement advocates call for undoing Democratic reform policies that downgraded some felonies to misdemeanors, which they blame for a rise in Organized theft in retail stores and Robberies with violence.
The poll also measures how voters feel about initiatives designed to address California's high unemployment rate. cost of living. According to the poll, a majority of likely voters support a measure to raise the state minimum wage to $18 an hour, though respondents were more divided on a measure that would embolden local governments to expand rent control but still leaned “yes.”
The broad support for Proposition 36, the tough-on-crime measure, comes as Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrats try to balance frustrations about crime among Californians with criminal justice reform goals that voters once supported.
The initiative aims to review parts of Proposition 47a measure approved by voters a decade ago that reduced some criminal penalties in an effort to reduce the state's prison population and offer nonviolent offenders more opportunities for rehabilitation and freedom.
Mark DiCamillo, director of the Berkeley IGS Poll, a nonpartisan survey of California public opinion, pointed to the “high visibility” of retail theft crimes — caught on camera or witnessed by voters in their communities — as a possible reason why more than twice as many voters said they support Proposition 36 as those who do not.
“It's a little outrageous to voters what they're seeing, and they're linking it to the passage of Prop 47,” DiCamillo said.
Becky Warren, a spokeswoman for the Yes on Prop 36 campaign, said the poll “confirms that Californians want real solutions to address our homelessness and drug crises” and that the measure will ensure “repeat offenders face accountability and consequences.”
While proponents of the Republican-backed measure — which has garnered support from some Democrats, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed. —They see it as a solution to some crime, but opponents say it will lead to a costly increase in the state's prison population.
Newsom and Democrats tried to craft a rival ballot measure This summer, crimes like shoplifting would have been addressed with a less punitive approach than the DA's Proposition 36. However, that measure was Abandoned abruptly by the governor last month amid a chaotic deal-making process on Capitol Hill.
Anthony York, a former Newsom spokesman who now serves as a spokesman for the No on Prop 36 campaign, said he's confident that as Election Day approaches and voters better understand the nuances of the initiative, they will change their minds.
“This is about restarting the war on drugs, recriminalizing drug possession and wasting billions of dollars on prisons and jails with no way to pay for them,” York said. “Quality of life issues are important, understandably so. People want and deserve to feel safe in their own communities, but they also don’t want bad policies that will ruin lives and set us back.”
Likely voters also support Proposition 32 52% of respondents are willing to vote “yes” and 34% to vote “no”, while the rest of the voters surveyed are undecided.
The measure is supported by Joe Sanberg, a wealthy Los Angeles investor and anti-poverty activist, and comes at a time when unions have won raises for individual industries, ensuring $25 per hour for health workers and $20 an hour For fast food workers.
Several cities, including West Hollywood and Berkeley, have surpassed the state minimum wage and now pay more than $18 an hour. Supporters of the measure say the wage should be more uniform across the state, while business groups oppose it for fear it will bankrupt companies already struggling financially.
In Proposition 33, A measure that could expand rent control, 40% of likely voters said they would support the initiative, while 34% oppose it. The measure would give local jurisdictions in California more power to regulate rents and would repeal a law that prohibits localities from capping prices for some properties.
The measure is sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a Los Angeles nonprofit that has backed similar rent control initiatives in the past, and is opposed by the real estate industry, which warns it could cause developers to build less, a problem that could worsen California’s housing crisis.
Ten measures All told, the ballot will be voted on in November. DiCamillo said that with a high-stakes presidential election, political enthusiasm could trickle down and draw record attention to proposals that could significantly change California politics.
“I expect a big turnout, and that's generally beneficial for issues lower on the ballot,” he said.
Times staff writers Anabel Sosa and Andrew Khouri contributed to this report.
