Prop. 34 Vote Is too Close to Call

October 11, 2012  |  Link to Article

10/11/2012
Press Contact: Erin Mellon
Cell: 650-793-3696
erin@safecalifornia.org
 
Prop. 34 Vote is Too Close to Call
Statement by Natasha Minsker, Campaign Manager, YES on 34 Campaign
“Every poll that asks voters about Proposition 34 using the actual language of the initiative, including the most recent Field Poll and a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll, shows that the Proposition 34 race is too close to call with large segments of undecided voters. That is the real story here given California’s history with the issue.
Some polls have asked voters to respond to a hypothetical question about “repealing” or “banning” the death penalty. That may be an interesting philosophical question but it is irrelevant. Voters will be facing a real-life question when they vote on Proposition 34: how will they vote on the actual initiative?
When asked about the actual initiative, the Los Angeles Times poll reveals that voters are tied. Those who favor Proposition 34 are at 44% and those who oppose it are at 46%, with 10% undecided and a margin of error of +/- 2.0 percentage points. Support among Latino voters is even higher, a point not even mentioned in many news accounts.
Proposition 34 replaces California’s broken death penalty with life in prison without parole. It also requires that convicted killers work while in prison and pay into the victims’ compensation fund, and directs $100 million to law enforcement to solve more rape and murder cases. Currently, 46% of murders and 56% of reported rapes go unsolved every year in California.
California has executed 13 people since 1978 out of 900 death sentences that have been handed down, and has executed no one since 2006. Many voters are just now learning that death row prisoners automatically get special privileges like single cells, more time to exercise and even more time with visitors than other inmates do.
Since 1978 when voters reinstated the death penalty in California, there has been a strong shift away from it. Voters are taking time to stop and think, and to move toward public safety measures that are fiscally responsible, evidence-based and sensitive to victims’ families. Though some voters may like the idea of the death penalty, they know that in reality we are not doing all we can do to prevent crime and help victims. And they know that, no matter what, the death penalty will always risk the execution of an innocent person.
Over 34 years of experience, decades of data backed by law enforcement leaders and prosecutors, and even two Supreme Court Chief Justices support the view that the death penalty in California is simply broken beyond repair. Yes on 34 is justice that works for everyone.”

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