New poll for Prop 36 shows overwhelming voter support to toughen penalties for stealing

A new poll from a San Francisco-based think tank showed overwhelming voter support for Prop 36, a tough-on-crime measure. 

An exasperated Gov. Gavin Newsom called the bill a "real setback" for California. 

"I know people are frustrated," Newsom said. "[Prop 36] is about bringing us back to a 1980's mindset where it's possession of drugs and you end up in state prison. The impact it's going to have on the Black and brown community is next level. The fact that I saw a poll today that says [70 percent] of people want to support it — I was wondering what state I was living in."

The survey is from the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonprofit organization that describes itself as a nonpartisan think tank with the mission to inform and improve the state's public policy "through independent, objective, nonpartisan research." The poll shows that 71% of voters intend to vote yes on Prop 36 while 26% oppose it. 

The measure would implement harsher penalties for stealing, overturning the reforms from 2014's Prop 47 which softened punishment for shoplifting and drug dealing.

"Our coalition just continues to explode," Greg Totten, CEO of California's District Attorney's Association, said. 

Totten is the co-chair of the "Yes of Prop 36" campaign. 

"We have a very bipartisan, huge coalition that includes over a thousand small business owners, retailers, crime victims, fentanyl victims," he said.

The campaign rejects the argument that jails and prisons will be overloaded. 

"This initiative is carefully and thoughtfully drafted," Totten said. "It is not a move toward an extreme, 'get-tough-lock-them-up' type of approach. We see people who have serious drug issues and mental health issues. I think all of them want them to get help and that's what this measure promises."

Newsom said Prop 36 does not have funding to help with rehabilitation.