California voters reject ballot measure to end slavery in prisons
Sacramento, California - California voters this Election Day rejected a ballot measure to outlaw slavery for good.
The Associated Press called the result with 53.8% of voters against and 46.2% in favor of Proposition 6.
The ballot measure would have removed language from the California state constitution allowing involuntary servitude in cases of criminal punishment – a phenomenon many advocates and targeted communities have described as a direct continuation of chattel enslavement.
The initiative was one of the 14 priority bills included in the California Legislative Black Caucus' initial reparations package, developed following the release of the California Reparations Task Force's final report.
Ahead of the vote, the Yes on Prop 6 campaign received endorsements from racial justice organizations, labor unions, lawmakers, celebrities, and more.
Democratic Assemblymember Lori Wilson, who sponsored the proposition, told the Washington Post the result "wasn’t a statement about where voters' values lie."
Instead, she blamed the loss on the inability of the campaign "to get the word out," promising to revive the measure sometime in the future.
Prop 6 campaign spokesperson Esteban Nuñez pointed to funding problems, insisting that "it was incredibly difficult for us to be able to raise a sufficient amount of money to really get the message out there." He also cited issues with the language used in the text, as well as confusion over what exactly was being proposed.
Nevada voters this cycle approved a similar initiative to end slavery and involuntary servitude as a form of criminal punishment.
Cover photo: Courtesy of Yes on Prop 6