California voters support forced prison labor after voting against ballot measure to ban it

Prisoner rights advocates opposed the punishment exemption for labor, saying they don’t think incarcerated people should be forced to do any work while serving their time. They also say the state does not fairly compensate them for work performed, which generally amounts to less than $1 per hour. Prisoners are routinely expected to do cleaning and maintenance work at prisons, manufacture license plates, or do light gardening at cemeteries.

The measure was also part of a larger set of reparations aimed at compensating black Californians for allegedly being subject to racism and discrimination over the centuries – even though slavery was never allowed in the state. During her presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris noted that she was in favor of the federal government studying the idea of offering reparations to black Americans.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has signed several bills that he said are about acknowledging the state's history of racial discrimination. He has also formally apologized for the state's "role in the perpetuation of slavery."

"The State of California accepts responsibility for the role we played in promoting, facilitating, and permitting the institution of slavery, as well as its enduring legacy of persistent racial disparities. Building on decades of work, California is now taking another important step forward in recognizing the grave injustices of the past - and making amends for the harms caused," Newsom said in a statement.

Some other states have approved initiatives that would have amended their Constitutions to ban any kind of involuntary work, AP noted.