2020 California Proposition 20

Proposition 20

November 3, 2020 (2020-11-03)

Restricts Parole for Non-Violent Offenders. Authorizes Felony Sentences for Certain Offenses Currently Treated Only as Misdemeanors.
Results
Choice
Votes %
Yes 6,385,421 38.28%
No 10,293,563 61.72%

California Proposition 20 was a proposed initiated state statute on the ballot in the 2020 California elections. This initiative would have added more crimes to the list of non-violent felonies for which early parole is restricted, and would have required DNA collection for certain misdemeanors.[1]

According to its ballot summary, Proposition 20 would have

  • limited access to parole programs established for non-violent offenders who have completed the full term of their primary offense by eliminating eligibility for certain offenses;
  • changed the standards and requirements related to Parole in California;
  • authorized felony charges in cases of retail theft where the value of stolen goods is between $250 and $950; and
  • would have required individuals convicted of certain misdemeanors to submit DNA to a state database.

Proposition 20 was decisively rejected by 62% of Californians, a margin of 24 percentage points. Observers partly attributed its failure to the George Floyd protests bringing negative attention to punitive criminal justice policies.[2][3]

  1. ^ "California Proposition 20, Criminal Sentencing, Parole, and DNA Collection Initiative (2020)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  2. ^ California's tough-on-crime movement runs into coronavirus, Floyd activism
  3. ^ Prop. 20, which would have toughened sentencing in criminal cases, is rejected by California voters