Taught on Prop 47 Media Stories WE BELIEVE IN Prop 47 ELECTION 2014 Expanding the Electorate, CHANGING LIVES
PICO California Prop 47 Voter Engagement BY THE NUMBERS BY THE NUMBERS 105,163 250,000 Conversations Voters Identified with Voters as Yes on 47 85% Voters of Color 74% New/Infrequent Voters 22,000 Volunteer Hours That s equivalent to 2.5 years! 12 Paid Phone Banks 2,000 Shifts Over 1,500 Clergy Preached and Taught on Prop 47 133 64,000 460,000 Volunteer Teams 7,633 Volunteer Shifts Nearly Doors Knocked Phone Calls Made 9,000 Pledge to Vote Cards Over 30 Op-Ed and Earned Media Stories
California made history on November 4, 2014, when 59.6 percent of the electorate voted Yes on Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. The initiative, the first of its kind in the nation, reclassifies six nonviolent felonies as misdemeanors and represents an important step forward in our work to dismantle mass incarceration in our state and country. Through the PICO Action Fund, PICO California s 19 local community-organizing groups played a pivotal role in the passage of Proposition 47. Working in partnership with Californians for Safe Neighborhoods and Schools and the California Calls Action Fund, we built a powerful grassroots civic engagement program focused on new and infrequent voters, primarily of color, who exercised their voting power to pass this historic measure. The following report details how PICO California developed and executed our voter engagement program for the 2014 mid-term election, which leveraged 22,000 hours of volunteer time to identify 105,163 yes voters to pass Proposition 47. This report also explores the impact and implications of our unique effort -- on the community leaders and clergy who led our campaign and on the larger fight for racial and economic justice in our communities and state.
Race Matters: Grounding Our Work in a Racial Justice Analysis By almost any measure -- from health to education to interactions with the criminal justice system -- African Americans and Latinos in California fare worse than their White counterparts. They are less likely to have access to quality medical care, earn a living wage, or to graduate high school. When it comes to the criminal justice system, the disparities are particularly stark for African American men and women, who represent 28 and 29 percent of the adult prison population, respectively, even though they comprise just five and six percent of the adult population in the state. 1 It is in the context of these disparities and against the backdrop of the growing Black Lives Matter movement that PICO California organized our 2014 Integrated Voter Engagement (IVE) program to pass Proposition 47 and expand the California electorate. We framed our work... as an integral step in the multi-year effort to dismantle a broken and racially biased criminal justice system. We framed our work on the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act as an integral step in the multi-year effort to dismantle a broken and racially biased criminal justice system. Across the state, we engaged in courageous and honest conversations -- first within our congregations and local organizations and then more broadly with new and infrequent voters -- about the racial disparities that pervade California s health, education, and criminal justice systems. In congregations and in house meetings, on the phones and in our neighborhood canvassing, we combined the personal stories of those most directly impacted with strategic voter engagement. The result: a groundbreaking public policy win and a shifting of the public narrative away from one focused on the dehumanization of people of color -- African Americans and Latinos, in particular -- to a narrative that embraces human dignity and the full participation of all people in building a shared future for California. While working across race, class, and faith traditions, PICO California prioritized communities of color in both our voter outreach program and our internal investment in training and leadership development. Our campaign was led by those most directly impacted by our broken system: African American and Latino men and women, young people of color fighting for an equitable education, and formerly incarcerated individuals. Of the 179,000 voters with whom we had conversations, 2 85% were voters of color, 34% were under 35 years old, and 74% were new or infrequent voters. Of the 179,000 unduplicated voters with whom we had a conversation, 85+15 85% were voters of color 34+66 34% were under 35 years old 74+26 74% were new/infrequent voters The race and ethnicity of those contacted reflects the diversity of California and PICO California s congregations, leaders, and communities -- 12% were Asian, 17% were African American, 14% were White, 55% were Latino, and 1.5% were Middle Eastern or Native American. TIMELINE Our Road to Prop 47 NOVEMBER 2011 Lifelines to Healing (Live Free) Campaign is launched. 2,000 clergy and faith leaders from around the country attend gathering in New Orleans, featuring address by Michelle Alexander on The New Jim Crow. 4
Our conversations made a difference on Election Day. Because of our commitment to expanding the electorate, PICO California targeted new and infrequent voters for our 2014 outreach. 3 Despite being less likely to vote than the overall electorate, voters we identified as Proposition 47 supporters turned out at a rate equal to the average voter turnout in targeted counties. 4 The turnout is especially striking when broken down demographically. Among voters who we identified as supporters of Proposition 47 in targeted counties: Turnout for all people of color increased by nine percentage points, from 30% to 39% in targeted counties. Voting among African Americans increased by almost 11 percentage points in targeted counties, from 31 percent to 42 percent. Additionally, African American voter turnout was two percentage points higher than the overall turnout in our target counties across all voters and roughly the same as statewide turnout across all demographics and all counties. All infrequent voters identified by PICO California voted at a rate 5 percentage points greater than infrequent voters in targeted counties. Young voters of color (under 35 years of age) voted at a rate of 21 percent, compared with a turnout rate of 15% for their demographic in targeted counties. Developing a Shared Vision for Racial and Economic Justice To ground our work in a shared analysis and vision, PICO California organized a three-day training in April 2014 that explored how structural racism impacts our lives and the policies and investments of our communities and our state. These sessions built upon PICO California s work with Michelle Alexander, john powell, Heather McGhee, and others, part of a long-term commitment to advancing racial healing and justice, both in the larger society, as well as in our own organization. More than 300 clergy, community leaders, and staff participated in the sessions to educate ourselves about racist systems and structures and implicit bias, develop a shared analysis, affirm our collective commitment to working across race, class, and faith traditions to fight for racial justice, and to lay the groundwork for our civic engagement campaign to pass the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. DECEMBER 2013- JANUARY 2014 100 leaders and staff participate in more than two dozen research meetings to develop a shared analysis and our 2014 Platform. MARCH 2014 PICO California s 2014 Platform is ratified. Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act is identified as top priority for all 19 federations. 5
Many Faiths, One Common Vision PICO California s work is grounded in the belief that clergy and other people of faith have a unique role to play in shaping a new public narrative and righting historic injustices. To that end, our 2014 civic engagement program was part of a larger national effort to reclaim the mantle of faith as a voice for inclusion, equity, and justice, rather than a voice for division and exclusion. Across faith traditions and denominations, clergy leadership was a powerful force propelling PICO California s civic engagement work forward. Throughout the state, more than 1,500 clergy participated in PICO California s 2014 civic engagement program. The preaching and teaching of faith leaders provided a prophetic call for human dignity and faithful citizenship and rooted our work in the language and beliefs of diverse faith traditions. From late summer until Get Out the Vote (GOTV) weekend, clergy leaders collected nearly 9,000 pledge to vote cards from members of their congregations (which were entered into our database for future follow-up). They wrote op-eds, participated in press conferences and a Let My People Vote! Sabbath, and supported civic engagement teams that were responsible for educating and turning out voters, both within their congregations and in their cities and regions. PICO California clergy also played a critical role in securing the endorsements of nearly every major religious denomination in California in support of Proposition 47. In addition to Proposition 47-specific support, PICO California held a statewide convening on October 9 for more than 250 clergy and religious leaders to pray, learn, and strategize about the unique role they play in dismantling the school to prison pipeline. PICO California developed a civic engagement toolkit for distribution at the event that provided clergy with concrete examples of how they could integrate nonpartisan voter engagement into the life of their congregation. more than 1,500 clergy preached and taught on Prop 47 nearly 9,000 pledge to vote cards completed by members of congregations The convening provided an opportunity for clergy to deepen their understanding of the policies and practices that have prioritized incarceration over investments in education and the services that would make communities truly safe. As importantly, it created an opportunity to build a broader community of faith leaders committed to leading the work for racial justice in California. PICO California will continue to engage and provide capacity-building support for these and other clergy around the implementation of Proposition 47 and efforts to dismantle mass incarceration and advance racial and economic justice in California. APRIL 2014 PICO California and Californians for Safe Neighborhoods and Schools hold press conferences in Los Angeles and Oakland to launch signature-gathering campaign for Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act (SNSA). APRIL 2014 More than 300 clergy, leaders, and staff participate in three-day training on structural racism and commit to leading movement for racial and economic justice in California. 6
A Campaign Deeply Rooted in Organizing PICO California s work to pass Proposition 47 has its roots in local organizing, particularly our Live Free and education campaigns. Our success was the result of leaders like Hector Muñoz in Coachella and Tamisha Walker in Richmond, who have been organizing for years to dismantle both ends of the school to prison pipeline -- from putting an end to zero-tolerance discipline policies in schools to advancing fair hiring ordinances and increasing re-entry services for formerly incarcerated men and women as they return home from jail or prison. For Walker, Proposition 47 s dual focus on sentencing reform and increased investments in education and services speaks to her personal experience as a mother of two boys and as a formerly incarcerated person. Walker spent her first year home after incarceration struggling to find housing and employment so she could start fresh and be reunited with her sons. She became part of an innovative project dedicated to supporting returning citizens, called the Safe Return Project, which is an initiative of the local PICO California organization, Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO). Walker is also a leader in PICO s local, state, and national Live Free work. Our success with Proposition 47 and the focus on ending mass incarceration makes me see how powerful and important all of our work on the ground has been, says Walker. It s especially important that those directly impacted are leading the fight, she adds. Around the state, formerly incarcerated individuals -- many of whom are direct beneficiaries of Proposition 47 -- were central to PICO California s work to pass the measure. Young men and women from Homeboy Industries, a member organization of LA Voice, were part of weekly phone banks and GOTV canvasses, as were residents of Cityteam Ministries, a recovery program in Oakland that includes many formerly incarcerated men. Two years ago, Cityteam joined Oakland Community Organization and members have since been deeply engaged in local work to create jobs and increase services for formerly incarcerated individuals and to decrease gun violence. Young people, particularly high school and college students, also played a key role in PICO California s 2014 civic engagement effort. Students were driven by a deep understanding of the intersection between the disinvestment in schools and programs to support youth development and our state s massive investment in incarceration. Muñoz is a high school senior and leader with Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC), the local PICO organization. Last May, Muñoz and other students in Coachella and San Bernardino donned bright orange jumpsuits in Sunday church services and during school board meetings to call attention to the school-to-prison pipeline. In both districts, students have led the push to replace harsh discipline policies with Restorative Justice and other practices designed to create a more supportive, relational culture. As we move into the implementation phase of Prop 47, those directly impacted by the new policy and resources will continue to lead our efforts. MAY-JUNE 2014 Regional boot camps lay the groundwork for civic engagement (CE) effort. Leaders hone their story telling skills, learn how to form powerful CE teams, and learn about the implications of SNSA for their families and community. One Story of Transformation Through PICO California s 2014 civic engagement program, leaders like Claudia Gonzalez from Merced County told their story of challenge and of transformation, inspiring others to take action and help pass Proposition 47. Throughout the campaign, Gonzalez shared her journey from a gang member in and out of county jail and state prison to a successful student at UC Berkeley and advocate for formerly incarcerated men and women. Claudia first became involved in the campaign to pass Proposition 47 because she saw the deep connections between her own experiences and the solutions identified in the measure. She has stayed involved -- and is now leading an organizing team -- because of the community she has built and the understanding she has developed of both personal and organizational power. Proposition 47 is just the beginning, says Gonzalez. 7
Teamwork: Building the Capacity of Volunteers to Lead Led and empowered by the prophetic call of clergy from across California, a mix of paid phone bankers and volunteer leaders executed PICO California s 2014 civic engagement program. Over the course of the campaign, volunteers staffed 7,633 phone bank and canvassing shifts and invested 22,000 hours to pass Proposition 47, as well as critical local measures. Much of the work was organized and led by 133 congregation and school-based teams. PICO National Network staff provided training and background on implementing a team approach to civic engagement. Congregational teams began organizing in the summer, setting goals and identifying volunteers to fill important roles, such as data support, canvassing and phone banking coordinators, and media/communications specialists. PICO California staff provided support to teams, whose members received 16 hours of group training, in addition to individual consultation. To build our staff capacity to lead this work, PICO California hired a Data Director and an Organizing Director, both experienced professionals who provided full-time support to the 40 staff and 1,024 leaders around the state who implemented our civic engagement program. PICO California s Communications Director, hired in late 2013, provided media training and consultation to teams. PICO National s data and campaign staff, as well as the Political Director, provided additional support. The team approach to civic engagement leverages the structure of PICO s organizing model and builds on the personal relationships that are critical to moving people to action, particularly in marginalized communities. Through our strategic investment in volunteer teams, supported by professional staff, PICO California was able to take our statewide civic engagement work to scale: In the six weeks prior to the election, we had 250,000 conversations with 179,000 voters and identified 105,163 yes voters on Proposition 47. The decentralized, volunteer leader-led approach provided a powerful leadership-development opportunity, deepened and expanded our civic engagement capacity, and created a structure for engaging thousands of new and existing volunteers in congregations, schools, and partner organizations. 7,633 phone bank and canvassing shifts 22,000 volunteer hours 250,000 conversations with voters 105,163 voters identified as yes on Prop 47 JULY-AUGUST 2014 Local federations hold hundreds of meetings in homes and congregations around the state; CE teams are formed. AUGUST 2014 California clergy participate in Let My People Vote! Sabbath. 8
Building Power by Expanding the Electorate PICO California s 2014 civic engagement campaign was set in the context of our long-term commitment to expanding the California electorate. With each election, we are creating the voting and political power necessary to change local, state, and national policy and increase investments in communities of color -- from securing long overdue investments for youth in Merced, to clean drinking water and parks in rural unincorporated areas of Coachella Valley, to securing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million aspiring Americans. Proposition 47 voting results demonstrate that our efforts, and those of partners, are shifting public opinion and voting patterns. Proposition 47 passed in Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties -- all areas where PICO California has married powerful organizing with robust civic engagement strategies. In San Diego, where law enforcement came out hard against Proposition 47, the San Diego Organizing Project (SDOP) organized a powerful clergy and community response, including an op-ed in the Union-Tribune. On Election Day, SDOP and partner PICO California organizations 5 throughout the state had identified 6,531 Yes on 47 voters. Among voters of color, the turnout rate for Proposition 47 supporters was 5.6 percentage points higher than voters with a similar demographics in San Diego County. In Orange County, the Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO) and partner PICO California organizations identified 7,854 Yes on 47 voters. Supporters under 35 identified by OCCCO and PICO California partners voted at a rate of 4.8 percentage points higher than similar voters in Orange County. Yes on 47 voters San Diego 6,531 Orange County 7,854 Riverside County 8,780 Even in counties where Proposition 47 did not pass, such as San Bernardino, Stanislaus, and Merced, the margin of defeat was far smaller than predicted. For example, in San Bernardino County, where Proposition 47 narrowly lost, it received a higher yes percentage than Proposition 30 received two years earlier. Inland Congregations United for Change and partner PICO California organizations had conversations with 14,070 voters in the county and identified 9,759 yes voters. PICO organizations around the state are poised to translate their voting power into policy wins. In San Bernardino and other school districts throughout California, students and parents are continuing their work to stop school push out by changing local discipline policies and increasing investments in Restorative Justice and other programs and strategies to help heal and build school communities. The Merced Organizing Project (MOP) will leverage its civic engagement work to shift policy in a city and county that is hostile to immigrants and that has systematically disinvested in its youth, contributing to a rise in gangs and plummeting graduation rates. In the Eastern Coachella Valley, students and new immigrants will use their voting power to fight for economic justice and access to long-denied services. Right now, our city is not invested in youth and isn t responding to the needs of many in our community, says Jeremy Jenkins, a leader in MOP s civic engagement effort. But as we reach out to the Latino community and others who haven t been voting, the mayor and others will have to pay attention. Think about how much we can change when more of our community votes. SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 PICO California and California Calls action funds launch Yes on 47 field campaign. OCTOBER 8, 2014 250 clergy and faith leaders participate in #Dothemath Faith Leader Summit. 9
From Transaction to Transformation At a time when most voter outreach is focused on securing a commitment and moving on, particularly in low-income communities of color, PICO California volunteers are engaging in conversations with new and infrequent voters, creating the foundation for future action. On the phones and at the doors, PICO California leaders are telling their stories and creating a space for others to do the same. They re exercising their power and developing a sense of their own agency, which has profound implications for long-term civic engagement. Jaynese Taylor and Sloan Noel Johnson led a congregational team at Imani Community Church in Oakland that was focused on passing Proposition 47 and local measures to increase investments in schools and community safety and to raise the minimum wage in the city. Although neither had led a voter engagement effort before, both were deeply committed to increasing opportunity and safety for all residents in Oakland, particularly for the African American community. Our people and our community matter to us. With every yes vote we were one step closer to making a better and safer community. Jaynese Taylor Imani Community Church Our people and our community matter to us. With every yes vote we were one step closer to making a better and safer community, says Taylor. For Taylor and Johnson, recruiting volunteers and managing phone banks for six weeks was an act of faith. This was deep, deep stuff, Taylor adds. Whatever I thought I was or wasn t able to do, I realized that God would show up in the work. During debriefs and evaluations, PICO California leaders in the Proposition 47 campaign have reflected on how they have been changed by the work -- both in terms of their deepened analysis of racialized policies and practices and their understanding of our collective power to affect change in local communities and in the state. Clergy have also shared how their congregations have been energized and empowered by the work, developing a deeper sense of the connection between their faith and civic engagement. For Dr. George Cummings, pastor of Imani Church and member of the PICO National Network s Board of Directors, the impact on his congregation has been particularly gratifying. As a pastor, I have been preaching and teaching about faith to change the world for 20 years. Through this work, our congregation has been transformed. They see themselves as agents of social change and they have a deeper sense of how our faith is important in the public square, says Dr. Cummings. They understand that faith isn t just about attending church. It s about doing night walks, it s about phone banking, it s about voting, he adds. That is huge. 1 Source: Just the Facts: California s Changing Prison Population, Public Policy Institute of California, April 2013 2 During the course of the campaign, PICO California had 250,000 conversations with 179,000 unduplicated voters. 3 Infrequent voters are individuals who voted in 2012, but not 2010. New voters are individuals who registered after the 2012 election. 4 Targeted counties were: Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Merced, Orange, Placer, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Riverside. 5 The majority of PICO California organizations called into a single statewide list. NOVEMBER 4, 2014 Prop 47 Passes with 59.6% of voters saying #Yes on 47! 10
PROP 47 will Transform Lives WE BELIEVE IN Prop 47 Each year, more than 40,000 people will maintain access to jobs, housing, voting, benefits, and other opportunities by being sentenced to a misdemeanor, rather than a felony. County corrections spending will decrease by $400-$600 million a year PROP 47 Hundreds of thousands of men and women will have their prior felony records cleared. $200-$300 million a year will shift from prison spending to mental health and substance abuse programs, victim services, truancy and dropout prevention, as well as students who are victims of crime. 3,000 At least fewer people will be sent to prison each year for drug possession and petty theft. 4,900 Almost parents can apply for early release or to serve their sentences in a county jail close to home, reuniting them with more than 10,000 children. 9,000 More than people now in prison for felonies for low-level crimes will be able to apply for a reduced sentence and release. The above impacts are excerpted from a September 2014 study by Human Impact Partners. 11
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