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State-by-State Voter Guide

Fall 2020 

Get ready to vote!
We've created a voter guide for all criminal justice related policy that will be on the ballot this November. Read through our voter guide and get info on what's on the ballot in your state. 

Arizona

Arizona 

Proposition 207 

  • This bill would legalize marijuana in the state of Arizona 

Vote YES

The criminalization of marijuana disproportionately harms communities of color. 

California 

Proposition 20 

  • Limits access to parole program for non-violent offenders who have completed the full term of their offense by eliminating eligibility for certain offenses 

  • Authorizes felony charges for specified theft crimes currently chargeable only as misdemeanors, including some petty theft

Vote NO

 This bill would bar people from  parole and make re-entry much more difficult for nonviolent offenders.

California 

Proposition 17 

  • Will end felony disenfranchisement for people on parole in California

  • Restore the right to vote for 10s of thousands of Californians 

 

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Vote YES

This bill will restore voting rights for thousands of Californians, many of whom are nonviolent first-time offenders. 

California 

Hawaii

Hawaii

HB 2747

  • Requires forfeiture or reduction of public pension benefits for individuals convicted of felonies related to the individual's employment with the state (or other political subdivision of the state)

Vote NO

 This bill would deny felons(who are disproportionately people of color and low-income people) from accessing pension, thereby making not only re-entry but earning a living wage harder 

Nebraska

Nebraska

  • Repeals language allowing slavery or involuntary servitude as criminal punishments under the Nebraska constitution 

Vote YES

This amendment would work towards abolishing the prison industrial complex, which allows for involuntary servitude as a punishment for crime and allows private corporations to profit off of the cheap or unpaid labor of people of color and marginalized groups. 

Constitutional Amendment 

Constitutional Amendment 

New Jersey 

New Jersey

  • The ballot measure would add an amendment to the state constitution that legalizes the recreational use of marijuana for ages 21+

  • Legalizes the cultivation, processing, and sale of retail marijuana. 

Vote YES

The criminalization of marijuana disproportionately harms communities of color. 

Marijuana Legalization Amendment 

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

  • ​Applies to individuals that are convicted of non-violent felonies.

  • The measure does not apply to those who have ever been convicted of a violent felony.

  • Would prohibit a person's former felony convictions from being used to enhance the person's sentence.

  • The measure would provide for sentence modifications for eligible individuals that are serving or are set to serve sentences that were enhanced due to past felony convictions.

Vote YES

Enhanced sentences punish individuals who have already served long sentences in jail, permanently breaking up families and communities. This law only applies to nonviolent offenders, and because people of color are disproportionately affected by mass incarceration in Oklahoma, it would help incarcerated individuals from marginalized backgrounds get out of prison quicker and re-enter the community. 

State Question 805

Oklahoma

Question 812 

  • This bill would legalize marijuana in the state of Oklahoma 

Vote YES

The criminalization of marijuana disproportionately harms communities of color. 

Oregon

Oregon

Oregon Drug Decriminalization and Addiction Treatment Initiative

  • Personal/non-commercial drug possession offenses: possession of a controlled substance in Schedule I-IV, such as heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamines, would be reclassified from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E violation resulting in a $100 fine or a completed health assessment.

  • Individuals who manufacture or distribute illegal drugs would still be subject to a criminal penalty

    Legalizes the cultivation, processing, and sale of retail marijuana. 

  • Establishes a drug addiction treatment and recovery program funded in part by the state's marijuana tax revenue and state prison savings

Vote YES

People of color are overrepresented in Oregon's criminal justice system, and many of them are non-violent drug offenders. This legislation would decriminalize recreational drug usage and keep minority communities out of prison for nonviolent offenses. 

South Dakota 

South Dakota 

  • A "yes" vote supports the constitutional amendment to legalize the recreational use of marijuana and require the South Dakota State Legislature to pass laws providing for the use of medical marijuana and the sale of hemp by April 1, 2022

Vote YES

The criminalization of marijuana disproportionately harms communities of color. 

Constitutional Amendment A

Constitutional Amendment 

Utah

Utah

  • A "yes" vote supports removing language from the Utah Constitution that allows the use of slavery and involuntary servitude as criminal punishments.

Vote YES

This amendment would work towards abolishing the prison industrial complex, which allows for involuntary servitude as a punishment for crime and allows private corporations to profit off of the cheap or unpaid labor of people of color and marginalized groups. 

Constitutional Amendment 

Constitutional Amendment 

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