Over the past 30 years, California voters have repeatedly turned to the ballot box to shape criminal justice policy, responding to concerns about public safety, justice, punishment, and rehabilitation. 

Most recently, in November 2024, more than 10 million voters passed Proposition 36, a measure that reclassified certain drug offenses, created new penalties for retail theft, and mandated strict treatment for repeat offenders. 

"As fentanyl poisoning deaths exploded, news footage of smash-and-grabs became routine, and deodorant was shelved under lock and key – Californians again reacted strongly this November," explained Senator Tom Umberg of Orange County. 

The first section of the law, titled "Alexandra’s Law," is named in memory of Alexandra Capelouto, a 20-year-old Riverside woman who died after unknowingly ingesting fentanyl disguised as Percocet.

Since the law’s implementation on December 18, 2024, the early application of Proposition 36 has varied across the state. In early 2025, counties representing 98% of the state’s population filed over 4,000 cases under the new law within its first two months. 

Early implementation has also raised questions about treatment infrastructure, enforcement consistency, and potential effects on jail populations. While these filings represent a small fraction of total criminal cases, they signal active use of the law to address repeat offenses.

This article examines the context and impact of voter-approved felony reclassification efforts in California, tracing the evolution from the Three Strikes Law in 1994, to the failure of Proposition 66 in 2004, through the reforms of Proposition 36 in 2012, Proposition 47 in 2014, and now Proposition 36 (again) in 2024. 

California’s shifting prison population figures serve as one lens for evaluating the effects of these reforms. Another lens is California’s violent crime rate.

When Three Strikes passed in 1994, the state prison population was 125,605. Twelve years later, in 2006, the number of incarcerated individuals peaked at 172,785. During the same period, California’s violent crime rate decreased by 47.5%, dropping from 1,013.0 to 532.4 incidents per 100,000 residents. 

Between 2006 and 2012, California’s violent crime rate declined by an additional 20.4%, falling from 532.4 to 423.4 incidents per 100,000 residents.

California's lowest violent crime rate occurred in 2014, with 396 incidents per 100,000 residents.  That same year, and 20 years after the first Three Strikes law, Proposition 47 reclassified several nonviolent drug and property crimes as misdemeanors rather than felonies. 

 Between 2014 and 2023, California’s violent crime rate increased by more than 30 percent. 

This increase in crime likely set the stage for the overwhelming passage of 2024’s Proposition 36. Today, the state prison population in California is 90,769, its lowest point in 30 years, but it is likely to increase after the passage of Proposition 36. This is because Prop 36 requires some felonies to be served in prison. 

Sentences for selling certain drugs (such as fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine) can be lengthened based on the amount sold.

Three Strikes and You’re Out: California’s 1994 Sentencing Reform

The first true "three-strikes" law was passed on November 2, 1993, when voters in Washington state approved Initiative 593 with more than 75% of the vote.

Then, on March 7, 1994, California Governor Pete Wilson, a Republican, signed AB 971, known as the “Jones law.” It was called “the most significant change to the state criminal justice system in more than a generation.” 

Reeling from high-profile violent crimes, most notably the murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 184, which mirrored the sentencing provisions in AB 971. The measure received overwhelming public support, passing with 72% in November 1994.

The law required that individuals convicted of three felony offenses receive a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in prison. And although the first two "strikes" accrued for serious felonies, the crime that triggered the life sentence could be any felony. 

According to States News Service, at the height of Three Strikes' popularity, 26 states and the federal government had similar sentencing laws in place—but California's was the harshest and resulted in the highest number of people serving life sentences in the nation.

That same year, California’s violent crime rate stood at approximately 1,013 incidents per 100,000 residents, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program. 

Although that represented a 6.3% decrease from the previous year, it remained among the highest in the nation. At the time of Proposition 184’s passage, California’s prison population was 125,605. 

In 1994, the RAND Corporation found that:

“If fully implemented as written, the new law would reduce serious felonies committed by adults in California between 22 and 34 percent below what would have occurred had the previous law remained in effect. About a third of the felonies eliminated will be violent crimes such as murder, rape, and assaults causing great bodily injury. The other two-thirds will be less violent but still serious felonies, including less injurious assaults, most robberies, and burglaries of residences.” 

Proposition 66 (2004)

Ten years after passing Three Strikes, in November 2004, California voters considered Proposition 66, which aimed to revise the Three Strikes law significantly. In rejecting Proposition 66, voters reaffirmed their support for the original measure. Though the proposition failed to pass, the level of support for it (47%) did suggest some sentiment among California citizens to reconsider aspects of the law, including the provision of sentences of 25 years to life for offenders whose most recent crime was non-serious and nonviolent. 

Between 2006 and 2012, California’s violent crime rate continued to decline, falling from 532.4 to 423.4 incidents per 100,000 residents.

Supreme Court Decision (2011)

California’s system faced challenges due to overcrowding. In 2011, the US Supreme Court held that overcrowding was preventing the state from providing the constitutionally mandated level of care to its prison population and ordered California to reduce its prison population. Lawsuits like Plata v. Schwarzenegger and Coleman v. Schwarzenegger culminated in the court’s ruling in Brown v. Plata. 

Proposition 36 (2012): Targeted Reform of the Three Strikes Law

In 2012, voters approved Proposition 36 to revise the original Three Strikes Law. The reform limited life sentences to cases where the third strike was a serious or violent felony. It also allowed for the re-sentencing of individuals previously sentenced under the broader original law.

Proposition 36 passed with 8.5 million votes, 69.3% (8,575,619 in favor, 3,798,218 against). 

The measure was designed to reduce incarceration for nonviolent offenders while focusing the harshest penalties on those convicted of more serious crimes. 

It marked a shift in public sentiment about the fairness and effectiveness of California's sentencing laws.

According to California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office, it was expected to save $70 million annually and help reduce prison overcrowding.

Proposition 47 (2014): Reclassification of Nonviolent Crimes

Approved in 2014, Proposition 47 reclassified several nonviolent drug and property crimes as misdemeanors rather than felonies, provided they involved less than $950. The ballot initiative was intended to reduce overcrowding and redirect prison spending toward treatment, prevention, and victim services.

Before this shift, drug treatment courts—first established in California in 1991—had been considered a successful model for addressing substance use through the criminal justice system. However, according to Senator Tom Umberg, "our Prop. 47 and other laws in recent years have resulted in the demise of those courts."

The change significantly reduced the prison population and allowed some incarcerated individuals to petition for resentencing. However, the measure has faced criticism from law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, who argued that it limited their ability to deter theft and drug-related offenses.

Between 2014 and 2023, California’s violent crime rate increased by 119 incidents per 100,000 residents—a 30.1% rise.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Prison Populations

Beginning in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to one of the most significant drops in California’s state prison population in decades. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) implemented early release programs, paused intake from county jails, and prioritized public health interventions to reduce the risk of outbreaks in overcrowded facilities.

The result was a steep decline in the prison population. From 123,100 in 2020, the number fell to 94,600 in 2021—a reduction of over 28,000 individuals in a single year. This marked the lowest point in California’s incarceration levels since the late 1980s. While some of the reductions have since leveled off, the pandemic created long-lasting changes.

Proposition 36 (2024): Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act

Proposition 36 was approved by 10 million voters in every California county and received the highest percentage of support among all ballot measures in the November 2024 election. The first section of the law, titled "Alexandra’s Law," is named in memory of Alexandra Capelouto, a 20-year-old Riverside woman who died after unknowingly ingesting fentanyl disguised as Percocet.

The California Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal and policy adviser projected that the measure will increase the state’s criminal justice costs by requiring some people who now serve their sentences at the county level to serve them in state prison instead, and by increasing state court workloads. “In total, Proposition 36 would increase local criminal justice costs, likely by tens of millions of dollars annually,” the adviser board reported.

Key provisions include:

• Felony charges for petty theft if the individual has two prior theft convictions.
• Mandatory treatment programs for individuals charged with qualifying drug offenses, with up to three years of incarceration for failure to complete the program.
• Inclusion of "Alexandra’s Law," which requires judges in California courts to warn all convicted drug dealers that they could face homicide charges if someone dies from drugs they distributed.

Under the new provisions, prosecutors in counties representing 98% of Californians filed 2,204 drug possession cases and 1,826 petty theft cases in the first two months of 2025. 

According to Spectrum News and state election reports, Proposition 36 garnered majority support in all 58 counties and had the highest overall vote share of the ten measures on the November 2024 ballot—an unprecedented level of statewide agreement on a criminal justice policy.