SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California voters rejected a measure on the November ballot that would have amended the state constitution to ban forced labor in prison.

The constitution already prohibits so-called involuntary servitude, but an exception allows it to be used as punishment for a crime.

This exemption has become a target of criminal justice advocates, concerned that prisoners are often paid less than a dollar an hour for jobs such as fighting fires, cleaning cells and performing labor labor. landscaping in cemeteries.

The failed proposition 6 was included in a set of repair proposals introduced by lawmakers this year as part of an effort to atone and provide redress for a history of discrimination against black Californians.

Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law in the package in September to issue a formal apology for the state’s legacy of racism against African Americans. But state lawmakers blocked an invoice which would have created an agency to administer reparations programs, and Newsom vetoed a measure it would have helped black families reclaim property unjustly seized by the government through eminent domain.

Jamilia Land, co-founder of the national Abolish Slavery Network, which advocated for the initiative targeting forced labor in prisons, said this measure and similar ones in other states aim to “dismantle the vestiges of Slavery” books.

“Even though California voters did not pass Proposition 6 this time, we have made significant progress,” she said in a statement. “We are proud of the movement we have built and we will not rest until we solve this problem once and for all. »

George Eyles, a retired teacher from Brea who voted against Proposition 6, said he found it confusing that the initiative sought to ban slavery, which was outlawed in the United States in the 19th century. After learning more about the measure, Eyles decided it probably wouldn’t be economically feasible, since prison work keeps maintenance costs low, he said.

“I really haven’t been able to get any detailed information about … the thinking behind the proposal of this whole Proposition 6, which has made me wary,” Eyles said. “If I really can’t understand something, then I usually shake my head and say ‘No’.”

Several states – including Colorado, Tennessee, Alabama and Vermont – have voted in recent years to rid their constitutions of forced labor exemptions, and this week they were joined by Nevada, which passed its own measure.

In Colorado, the first state to get rid of an exception for slavery of its incorporation in 2018 — incarcerated people alleged in a 2022 lawsuit against the corrections department that they were still forced to work.

The ballot text for Proposition 6 did not explicitly include the word “slavery” like other measures, because the California Constitution was amended in the 1970s to remove an exemption for slavery. But the exception of involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime remained in effect.

The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution also prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime.

Proposition 6 was the second-to-last campaign expenditure among 10 statewide initiatives on the ballot this year, at about $1.9 million, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office . There was no formal opposition.

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Austin is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover under-reported issues. Follow Austin on Twitter: @ sophieadanna