Inmates do laundry at San Quentin State Prison in March. Proposition 6 would ban slavery in California prisons. It appears heading toward defeat.

How did Californians, who pride themselves on being progressive, just vote to keep slavery in their state Constitution?

The California Constitution technically bans involuntary servitude, but it leaves an exception: It can be used as punishment for a crime. Proposition 6 would have amended the state Constitution to remove this exception, ensuring that labor within prisons would be voluntary rather than forced. The measure didn’t aim to ban incarcerated people from working; it simply proposed that work should be optional.

So why didn’t Californians support this measure? Many news outlets pointed to its vague language of “involuntary servitude,” a term that may have confused or failed to resonate with voters. But the underlying issue is deeper than just ballot wording. We as Californians pride ourselves on being informed and progressive, but our recent voting trends reveal a concerning reality: We’re too often swayed by misinformation, ballot confusion or simple apathy.

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Almost 60,000 prisoners in California have been assigned a job, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told the Los Angeles Times. These jobs include packaging nuts, washing dishes and making furniture, according to CalMatters.........

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