More than 50,000 former California prisoners will be able to vote while on parole after the passage of a ballot measure Tuesday.
Proposition 17, a proposal to add California to the 19 states and the District of Columbia that grant voting rights to parolees, held a large lead with most precincts reporting.
Parole is a period of state supervision after a prison sentence for a felony. Parolees must report periodically to their parole officer, can be searched at any time, are barred from possessing guns, and can be returned to prison for violating parole conditions.
Supervision typically lasts three years, but can be five or 10 years for more serious crimes. Prisoners who were convicted of murder or other crimes carrying potential life terms, and are later found suitable for release by the state parole board, remain on parole for life.
The impact of the voting ban is racially disproportionate. As of December 2016, according to state records, African Americans made up 6% of the state’s adult population but 26% of its parolees; Latinos accounted for 35% of the population and 40% of the parolees; and white people were 41% of the population and 26% of the parolees. Other racial and ethnic groups made up the remainder.
California allows people to vote while on supervised probation for misdemeanors and some felony convictions, but voting by parolees has been barred since 1849, a year before statehood, by the California Constitution, which can be amended only by the voters. Prop. 17 was placed on the ballot by two-thirds votes of both houses of the Legislature, largely along party lines, and needs a majority public vote to pass.
Backers of the measure include the advocacy group Californians for Safety and Justice along with the American Civil Liberties Union and the League of Women Voters. They argue that extending the right to vote would benefit society as well as parolees.
“People on parole who have completed their prison sentences raise families, hold jobs, pay taxes, and contribute to society in every other way,” supporters said in the state’s ballot pamphlet. “Restoring a person’s voting eligibility removes stigma and helps strengthen their connection to the community.”
They cited a 2011 report by Florida’s Parole Commission saying inmates whose rights are restored after release are less likely to commit new crimes.
Opponents of Prop. 17, including the advocacy group Crime Victims United of California, argue that parolees do not deserve to vote.
“Parole is the adjustment period when violent felons prove they are no longer a violent threat to innocent citizens,” they said in the ballot pamphlet. Prop. 17, they said, “will allow criminals convicted of murder, rape, child molestation, and other serious and violent crimes to vote before completing their sentence, including parole.”
Bob Egelko and Michael Cabanatuan are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko @ctuan
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November 04, 2020 at 12:42PM
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Prop. 17, giving Californians on parole the right to vote, wins - San Francisco Chronicle
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