About the vote count
As you watch these results, keep in mind:
- There more more than 22.6 million registered voters in California.
- In 2020, the last presidential election, more than 16.1 million Californians cast a ballot.
Get full results:
Keep in mind that in tight races the winner may not be determined for days or weeks after Election Day. This is normal. Here's why.
In California, ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 5 are counted toward the results as long as they arrive within seven days of the election. The California Secretary of State's Office is scheduled to certify the final vote on Dec. 13.
What is at stake in this race
Proposition 36 would roll back some of the reforms contained in Proposition 47, the measure approved by voters in 2014 that reduced penalties for most drug possession crimes and petty theft. The latest measure comes amid an increase in high-profile “smash-and-grab” robberies and the fentanyl crisis.
Why this race mattered
Prop. 36 would do three things:
- Increase criminal punishment for drug and theft-related crimes.
- Create a new requirement that people arrested for drug possession crimes be either sent to a drug rehabilitation facility or state prison.
- Require courts to warn people convicted of selling or providing illegal drugs to people that they can be charged with murder if they keep doing so and someone dies.
Supporters say many people who are committing these crimes are addicted to drugs, although there is no data to support that. Opponents say the measure facilitates a return to mass incarceration and overpunishment for minor crimes.
Prop. 36 would increase state criminal justice costs, “likely ranging from several tens of millions of dollars to the low hundreds of millions of dollars each year,” according to the state Legislative Analyst’s Office.
It would also increase the state prison population and state court workload.
Follow the money
Go deeper on the issues
- California ballot measure promises ‘mass treatment’ for drug crimes. Can counties provide it?
- California crime measure Prop. 36 could increase deportations
