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California voters are on track to reject a ballot measure that would ban slavery and involuntary servitude in prisons.
On Wednesday (November 6), California's Proposition 6, a measure aimed at banning slavery by creating voluntary work programs focusing on rehabilitation, was trailing in support, with 55 percent of voters opposing the measure to 45 percent who supported it, per RollingStone.
Though the U.S. Constitution bans slavery, there is an exception for punishment for crime. Seven states have removed slavery "loopholes" from their constitutions, including Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont.
Incarcerated people in California can be forced to work jobs including cooking, cleaning, and other tasks needed to run the facility for as little as $0.16 per hour. People who refuse to work are subjected to consequences like having certain basic privileges taken away and losing family visits.
Proposition 6 was supported by the American Civil Liberties Union of California, the League of Women Voters of California, the California Labor Federation, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Very few organizations publicly opposed the measure. No argument against the measure was submitted to the official state voter guide. Supporters of the measure spent $2.1 million, compared to roughly $9,000 spent by its opposers.
The election results may suggest that Californians want to be tougher on crime. Voters in the state also passed a measure to make shoplifting a felony for repeat offenders and to make fentanyl possession a felony.
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