Proposition 66 was a

California ballot proposition In California, a ballot proposition is a referendum or an initiative measure that is submitted to the electorate for a direct decision or direct vote (or plebiscite). If passed, it can alter one or more of the articles of the Constitution of Cal ...

on the November 2, 2004 ballot. It was a proposed amendment to the

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

three-strikes law In the United States, habitual offender laws (commonly referred to as three-strikes laws) have been implemented since at least 1952, and are part of the United States Justice Department's Anti-Violence Strategy. These laws require a person who ...

(implemented in 1994 with Proposition 184). Prop 66 would have required the third

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

charge against a suspect to be especially violent and/or serious crimes to mandate a 25-years-to-life sentence. It also would have changed the definition of some felonies. It was rejected by voters, with 52.7% voting against the proposition. Though polls indicated that the measure would be overwhelmingly approved by California voters,

public opinion Public opinion is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to a society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. Etymology The term "public opinion" was derived from the French ', which was first use ...

shifted dramatically in the last days of the campaign. Opponents argued that its wording was so ambiguous that it threatened to shorten sentences for far more

convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

than proponents estimated, and that it would have categorized some serious felonies—assault with intent to rape an elderly or disabled person, for example—as nonviolent crimes. Days away from the election, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was joined by Henry Nicholas, co-founder and former co-chairman, president and chief executive officer of

Broadcom Corporation Broadcom Corporation is an American fabless semiconductor company that makes products for the wireless and broadband communication industry. It was acquired by Avago Technologies in 2016 and operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of the merged ...

and a victims’ rights advocate whose sister was murdered in 1983, as well as former Governors

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of ...

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California betw ...

, Gray Davis and

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (; June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. Of Armenian descent, Deukmejian was a member of the Republican Party and he also served ...

in launching an intensive radio and television advertising campaign against the ballot initiative. The ads warned that Prop. 66, if passed, “would release 26,000 dangerous criminals and rapists. Nicholas contributed $3 million to the campaignHighBeam
/ref> and flew former Gov. Brown to Long Beach from Oakland to record radio ads with him in the

home recording Home recording is the practice of recording sound in a private home instead of a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a home studio or project studio. Home recording is widely practiced by voice actors, narrat ...

studio belonging to

Ryan Shuck Ryan Shuck is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, producer, and entrepreneur. A co-founder of industrial rock band Orgy, Shuck is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist in electronic rock band Julien-K, and lead singer of the rock ...

of the rock group

Orgy In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party consisting of at least five members where guests freely engage in open and unrestrained sexual activity or group sex. Swingers' parties do not always conform to this designation, because at many swin ...

. Joining them was

Dave Silvera Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

, of the band Korn. Over the next several days, an ad blitz including spots from Shuck and Silvera blanketed radio stations across the state. At one point ahead in the polls by more than a 3-to-1 margin Prop 66 failed to pass, with 5,604,060 voters (47.3 percent) voting for, 6,238,060 (52.7 percent) voting no, and 747,563 (5.9 percent) casting no vote. Mark DiCamillo, director of the

Field Poll Mervin Field (March 11, 1921 – June 8, 2015) was an American pollster of public opinion in the state of California. Biography Field was born in 1921, the youngest of five children, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He grew up in Princeton, Ne ...

, called the come-from-behind campaign to defeat Prop 66 “unprecedented” in California electoral politics.

Results

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References

{{Reflist 66 Initiatives in the United States

Results

See also

References