Civil rights were under assault this midterm election cycle, as political campaigns sought to capitalize on fear-mongering crime coverage to turn out voters in support of tough-on-crime policies.
But the results so far signal that the bad-faith “crime wave” narrative pushed by conservatives and some Democrats failed to con a critical mass of voters, who instead largely favor a less draconian police state.
In the first nationwide election after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Roe v. Wade in June, several states voted to protect reproductive rights and prevent abortion from being further criminalized.
Voters in a handful of states also had the opportunity to buck the nation’s deeply unpopular drug war by voting to legalize marijuana. And in Colorado, a proposition to decriminalize possession of natural psychedelics like psilocybin and mescaline was also put to the test. The measure currently maintains a slim lead, with 51 percent of the vote as of Wednesday morning.
Bail reform was perhaps the biggest test of the false and exaggerated crime panic messaging. In recent years, the nation has succeeded in paring back harmful cash-bail policies. But after years of Fox News, local TV stations, and other news outlets pummeling the public with disingenuous stories about crime, some states, like Alabama and Ohio, passed ballot measures that may make it harder for people to make bail. And while Democrat Kathy Hochul won the New York governor’s race over anti-bail zealot Lee Zeldin, Hochul also campaigned on toughening bail laws.
District attorney races across the country have shown mixed results, with candidates who support ending cash bail both winning and losing across the country. While there was plenty of cause for optimism in the midterm elections, it’s clear that progressives and reformers must redouble their efforts if they want to put an end to this country’s excessively harsh criminal punishment system.
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