California Prop 20: Effort to reclassify some crimes, expand DNA collection fails

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Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Here's how Prop. 20 will affect criminal justice in California
One of the measures that will be put before California voters in November would reclassify some misdemeanor crimes as felonies and take a stronger stance on parole.

Voters have rejected California Proposition 20, which aimed to reclassify certain crimes and expand mandatory DNA collection, according to Associated Press projections.

So far, 63% of California voters have opposed the proposition, with 65% of precincts partially reporting as of 10:50 pm Tuesday.

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What does this mean?

If Prop 20 would have passed, firearm theft, vehicle theft and the unlawful use of credit cards would have been reclassified as "wobbler" crimes, meaning prosecutors could charge them as misdemeanors or felonies.

The measure would have added two new crimes to California's Penal Code: serial crime and retail organized crime. It also would have expanded mandatory DNA collection from people convicted of certain misdemeanor crimes.

RELATED: All the California propositions explained