One of the propositions tied to the upcoming statewide elections in California on November 3, 2020, is a veto referendum called “California Replace Cash Bail with Risk Assessments Referendum.” In this referendum, California voters will have to decide whether the California Senate Bill 10 that requires to base pre-trial release on risk assessment rather than cash bail needs to be implemented in the state. Even though Senate Bill 10 is mostly a Democratic initiative, voters of all political preferences should support it, as the bill’s opponents mainly protect the interests of the bail industry and resort to distorting information.
The major sponsor of the proposition is the American Bail Coalition that reacted to Senate Bill 10 is adopted and signed into law in 2018. The bail industry makes its income on providing bails for suspects for a certain reward – usually 10 percent of the sum (“Replace Cash Bail,” 2020). Since its profits rely on the preservation of bail as an institution, replacing it with risk assessment threatens the income of the entities involved in this business.
In partisan terms, Senate Bill 10 is largely the brainchild of the Democratic Party, while the Republicans have opposed it in both chambers of the state’s legislative assembly. In the State Assembly, 42 Democrats out of 55 supported the bill, and 24 Republicans out of 25 opposed it (“Replace Cash Bail,” 2020). In the State Senate, 25 Democrats out of 26 voted “Yes” and 12 Republicans out of 14 voted “No” (“Replace Cash Bail,” 2020). Hence, the votes approving or vetoing the implementation of Senate Bill 10 will likely coincide with the Democratic and Republican political affiliations of the voters.
As of now, there is no yet clear delineation of the state counties either in favor or against the proposition. In particular, it is not clear which counties are more likely to vote “Yes” and, as such, support the continuing Senate Bill 10. There is slightly more information on the opposing side – at the very least, it is known that the Orang Country displays strong opposition toward the bill (“Replace Cash Bail,” 2020). In all likelihood, only the actual referendum in November will demonstrate how California voters in the state’s different areas feel about the proposition.
Regardless of the party affiliation, a responsible choice for an average voter would be voting “Yes” and supporting the continued implementation of Senate Bill 10. As mentioned above, the opposition to the measure mainly serves the profits of the bail industry rather than the average Californian. Additionally, the opponents of the bill use blatant disinformation in their campaign, as when claiming that the risk assessment procedure rests on computer algorithms (“Senate Bill 10 Halted,” 2019).
However, California State Government has made it exceedingly clear that, while computer algorithms are used, the judicial officer is the actual authority and may override the decision suggested by them (“SB 10,” 2020). Other things being equal, resorting to disinformation to further one’s case should be a downside in the eyes of a responsible voter.
To summarize, voting “Yes” and supporting Senate Bill 10 is the right thing to do in “California Replace Cash Bail with Risk Assessments Referendum”. The campaign against the bill mainly pursues the interests of the bail industry rather than an average Californian. Although the bill itself is a democratic brainchild, a responsible Republican voter should also think twice before supporting a campaign that uses blatant disinformation and misrepresentation.
References
BREAKING: Implementation of CA Senate Bill 10 halted by referendum effort. (2019). American Bail Coalition. Web.
California Replace Cash Bail with Risk Assessments Referendum. (2020). Ballotpedia. Web.
SB 10: Pretrial Release and Detention. (2020). California Courts. Web.