Kamala Harris won’t say how she voted on the California measure that would reverse criminal justice reforms

DETROIT – Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday he declined to say how he voted for o the key vote measure in her home state of California, which would reverse criminal justice reforms passed in recent years.

Harris addressed a question about the ballot initiative in comments to reporters while campaigning in the battleground state of Michigan. She also confirmed two days before Election Day that the mail-in ballot was “on its way to California.”

“I will not talk about the vote in this regard. Because, frankly, it’s the Sunday before the election, and I’m not going to build support one way or the other around it,” said Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and U.S. senator before being elected vice president in 2020. .

The Democratic presidential nominee’s decision not to publicly issue a position on the high-profile initiative could leave her open to criticism from Republican Donald Trump that she is soft on crime and from left-leaning voters who would like to see she speaks forcefully against what they perceive as draconian efforts against crime.

The initiative, if passed, would make the crime of theft a felony for repeat offenders and increase penalties for some drug charges, including those involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl. It would also give judges the authority to order people with multiple drug charges to receive treatment.

Supporters said the initiative was needed to close loopholes in existing laws that have made it difficult for law enforcement to punish thieves and drug dealers.

Opponents, including Democratic state leaders and social justice groups, said the proposal would disproportionately incarcerate poor people and those with substance use problems, rather than targeting leaders who hire large groups of people to steal goods so they can be resold online.

California’s approach to crime is a central issue in this election cycle.

Beyond the ballot measure is San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a Democrat a tough fight for re-election against challengers who say it has allowed the city to get out of hand.

The moderate Democratic mayor faces four primary challengers on the Nov. 5 ballot, all fellow Democrats, who say Breed has wasted six years in office. San Francisco is said to have allowed it descends into chaos and blamed others for her inability to control homelessness and homelessness street behaviorall while broken companies called for help.

Meanwhile, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price faces a recall election and Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón he is up against a rival who has criticized the incumbent’s progressive approach to crime and punishment.

Crime data shows the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles saw a steady increase in shoplifting between 2021 and 2022, according to a study by the Public Policy Institute of California.

Statewide, shoplifting rates rose over the same period but were still lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019, while shoplifting and robberies became more prevalent in urban counties, the study found.

Harris, in the final days of the 2024 campaign, urged Americans in battleground states to make a vote plan to get themselves, their friends and loved ones to the polls.

But the vice president and her campaign team, until her comments Sunday, avoided talking in detail about when she would cast her vote and sidestepped questions about how she would vote on the California measure.

Last month, she suggested this to reporters she would reveal her position on the ballot measure.

“I haven’t voted yet and I actually haven’t read it yet,” Harris told reporters at the end of an Oct. 16 campaign stop in Detroit. “But I’ll let you know.”

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Madhani reported from Washington.