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California voters are deciding the outcome of 10 state propositions, including measures that deal with criminal justice, rent control, the minimum wage and investments in schools and climate resilience.
With more than 9 million votes counted Wednesday morning — marking roughly 48% of total ballots cast — three measures had earned enough support to be declared winners by the Associated Press, and one had failed.
Proposition 36
One of the winners is a measure toughening criminal penalties for some nonviolent crimes. Proposition 36 will reverse key parts of a decade-old voter initiative that reduced penalties for drug possession and low-level thefts and diverted thousands of people from prison. Proposition 36 came largely in response to concerns over retail theft and the fentanyl crisis, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s efforts to convince Californians the problems could be handled without rolling back Proposition 47, the 2014 law.
Proposition 3
A constitutional amendment to protect the right of same-sex couples to marry also succeeded. As of early Wednesday morning, 62% of votes counted were in favor of the measure. Proposition 3 will remove language defining marriage as “between a man and a woman” that was placed in the state constitution after voters passed Proposition 8 in 2008.
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