Harris would not say how she voted on a California measure that would undo criminal justice reforms

DETROIT – Vice President Kamala Harris declined on Sunday to say how she would vote on a vote most important ballot measure in her home state of California, which would undo criminal justice reforms passed in recent years.

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

“I’m not going to talk about the vote on that. Because, frankly, it’s the Sunday before the election and I’m not going to create an endorsement around it one way or another,” said Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and U.S. senator before being elected vice president in 2020. .

If passed, the initiative would make shoplifting a misdemeanor for repeat offenders and increase penalties for some drug charges, including those involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl. It would also give judges the power to order people with multiple drug offenses to seek treatment.

Supporters said the initiative is necessary to close loopholes in existing laws that have made it challenging for law enforcement agencies to punish shoplifters and drug dealers.

Opponents, including Democratic state leaders and social justice groups, said the proposal would disproportionately jail poor people and those with substance abuse problems rather than targeting leaders who hire large groups of people to steal goods that they can resell online.

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

Off the ballot, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, is locked in a re-election battle against challengers who say she let the city spiral out of control. Meanwhile, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is facing a recall election, and the Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon is taking on a rival who has criticized the incumbent’s progressive approach to crime and punishment.

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

Across the state, shoplifting rates rose over the same period but were still lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019, while business burglaries and robberies are more common in urban counties, the study said.

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Madhani reported from Washington.