A California Ballot Measure to Ban Forced Prison Labor Is Failing

Voters in conservative states like Alabama and Tennessee had already ended involuntary servitude in their prisons in recent elections. So it came as something of a surprise on Wednesday that California voters were rejecting a similar proposal.

Proposition 6 was failing by nearly 10 percentage points after election night counting, despite facing little vocal opposition. The measure would amend the state constitution to prevent inmates from being forced into labor as punishment, and it was one idea from a state task force that had examined whether California should provide reparations to African American residents.

Some state lawmakers saw the measure’s poor performance as an indication of a rightward shift in California on criminal justice. In Tuesday’s election, voters in Los Angeles and Alameda counties were on their way to ousting their progressive district attorneys, while Californians statewide overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative that stiffened penalties on retail theft and drug possession.

“I think the narrative around Prop. 6 got swept into the fear politics that are driving the return to mass incarceration and the tough-on-crime era,” said Isaac Bryan, a state assemblyman and the recently elected vice chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, which led the effort in the Capitol to put Proposition 6 on the ballot.

“It’s a clear measure in terms of affirming our values and living them out in our constitution,” he added. “It’s unfortunate and disturbing that it would be struggling the way it is.”

Polling conducted in September and October by the Public Policy Institute of California showed lower overall interest in Proposition 6 among voters compared to other measures on the November ballot. Only 41 percent of those surveyed indicated that they would support the measure, an early sign that it was likely headed toward defeat.

There was no opposition argument in the official state voter guide, and the measure was backed by the California Democratic Party, labor unions and Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles. But less than $2 million was raised to support Proposition 6, hardly enough to reach most of the state’s 22.6 million voters.

Ultimately, the ballot language, which primarily used the term “involuntary servitude,” may have failed to compel voters or make clear that the question was, simply, about ending a form of slavery, said Mark Baldassare, the longtime poll director at the Public Policy Institute of California.

A stronger campaign explaining the measure may have better positioned Proposition 6 for success, he said. Voters may have been unclear on the level of support or opposition by either party.

“In concept, people might support this idea, but they didn’t get the signals to line up behind it,” Mr. Baldassare said.