Vice President Kamala Harris avoided answering a reporter Sunday afternoon on how she voted on California’s crime ballot measure, Proposition 36.
Republicans in the liberal state have pushed for Prop 36, which seeks to increase penalties for retail and drug crimes in California, which has struggled with rising crime. Speaking to a pool of reporters just two days before Election Day, Harris was asked if she had cast her ballot, and how she voted on the stricter crime measure.
“So my ballot is on its way to California and I’m going to trust the system that it will arrive there. I’m not going to talk about the vote on that because, honestly, it’s the Sunday before the election. I don’t intend to create an endorsement one way or another around it, but I did vote,” Harris said.
In 2014, Proposition 47 was introduced in the state and allowed the reclassification of some felonies as misdemeanors, hitting the state’s businesses and retailers as the measure reclassified offenses such as shoplifting and grand theft. As a result of local residents’ pushback, Proposition 36 campaign was introduced and backed by California District Attorneys Association, California State Sheriffs’ Association, the Republican Party of California and Democratic San Francisco Mayor London Breed.
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Since mid-September, Harris has remained silent on Prop 36, declining to state whether she would vote in favor of the measure. Notably, Harris also avoided publicly disclosing her vote on Prop 47 while serving as California’s attorney general. The vice president has faced criticism for recently flip-flopping on left-leaning policies she previously supported before 2020.
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, however, came out against the measure in September, claiming it would take “millions from what’s proven to actually keep us safe,” according to Politico. However, as support for the measure has continued to rise, the governor has begun to highlight his administration’s efforts to curb retail theft, noting that while he believes the measure will pass, he “hope[s] people take the time to understand what they’re supporting,” The Sacramento Bee reported.
Within a recent poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), the tough on crime measure is poised to pass within the state as 73% of those surveyed stated they will be voting “yes” on their ballots.
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