CA To Keep Cash Bail System As Prop 25 Fails

LOS ANGELES, CA — Voters in California rejected Proposition 25, throwing out a new law to replace the state's cash bail system with a risk assessment process to determine if a suspect should remain jailed while awaiting trial.

The Associated Press called the race with 72 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday. The 'no' voter garnered 6,242,683 voters or 55.4 percent of the vote. The 5,021,665 votes in support of Prop 25 fell short of the majority needed to win, coming in at 44.6 percent.

Prop 25 opponents were quick to declare victory.

“From the beginning of this fight, we sounded the alarm. We called on all Californians to vote ‘NO’ on Proposition 25 as this ballot measure would replace California's bail system with a far worse system of pretrial racism and mass incarceration for Black, Brown, and underserved members of our community," Lex Steppling and Dolores Canales, chairs of a No on Prop. 25 committee, wrote in a statement. "We warned our communities that if passed, Prop 25 would automate racial profiling, give unchecked power to judges, and increase funding and power for corrupt probation departments. And we’re so glad the voters of California took heed of our alarms by ensuring this ballot measure was rejected.”

Check back here for up-to-the minute election results for Prop. 25. Patch has you covered with live election results that will be updated until the last ballot is counted.

When the law passed in 2019, it was hailed as a major revolution of the criminal justice system and bail bond industry, but it was halted from going into effect by the referendum Prop 25.

Proponents of Prop 25 wanted to see the cash bail system eliminated because they said it was a blatant injustice that criminalizes poverty. They argued that a defendant with means can pay bail, walk free and continue to earn a living while awaiting trial. A person who can’t afford to make bail, however, languishes in jail unable to earn a living or pay bills while awaiting trial.

A person’s wealth shouldn’t determine how long a person has to sit in jail, according to Prop 15 advocates.

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“Prop 25 would essentially bring about an end to the predatory, unfair money bail system in California. Somebody who is accused but not convicted of a low-level, nonviolent offense could spend days, weeks or months in jail simply because they don’t have enough money to get out,” said Jonathan Underland, a spokesman for the Yes on 25 campaign. “Not only is it deeply unfair, it essentially makes it a crime to be poor. It’s also unsafe because as long as you have enough money, you can get out.”

Proponents of Prop 25 cited the case of Kenneth Humphrey, a Black man from San Francisco accused of stealing $5 and a bottle of cologne, burglary and elder abuse. Unable to make bail, he sat in jail for a year awaiting trial.

Compare that to the infamous Brock Turner case, in which the Stanford student was freed on $150,000 while awaiting trial for sexual assault, Underland said.

Prop 25 proponents accused the billion dollar bail bond industry of trying to steamroll the legislative process, filing for the referendum the day after the new law was passed. Those backing the measure included the state Democratic Party, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rep. Karen Bass and the California Teachers Association.

A wide range of groups came together to oppose the measure, including the State Republican Party, the California Black Chamber of Commerce, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the Inland Empire Latino Coalition, several NAACP chapters and faith leaders. The breadth of the coalition reflects a discomfort with the measure that spans progressive and conservative groups.

Opponents of the measure contended it replaces every Californian’s right to make bail with a computer-generated predictive modeling system likely to be biased against people of color and the economically disadvantaged.

"Prop. 25 will be even more-discriminatory against African-Americans, Latinos and other minorities. Computer models may be good for recommending songs and movies, but using these profiling methods to decide who gets released from jail or who gets a loan has been proven to hurt communities of color,” Alice Huffman, President, California State Conference of the NAACP, wrote in the official ballot argument against the measure.

Opponents also contended the measure is a threat to public safety that makes it hard for police officers to do their jobs. Offenders who are released without having to put up bail have little incentive not to reoffend, they contended.

The bail bond insurance industry has spent more than $6 million on the referendum. Support for the measure has largely been funded by Los Angeles Clippers owner Steven A. Ballmer and his wife Connie Ballmer.