Black voters in key swing states want to see criminal justice reform: Poll

Black voters in critical background states want to see federal and state governments tackle criminal justice reform, according to a national poll released Wednesday.

The poll conducted by BSG on behalf of FWD.us found that 78 percent of likely voters in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan support criminal justice reform, including 87 percent of Democrats and 82 percent of independents. Two out of 3 Republicans also supported criminal justice reform.

The three states are among the most contested battlegrounds in this year’s presidential race.

“Black voters from across the country recognize the shortcomings of our current criminal justice system — failing to rehabilitate people, not reducing crime, and ignoring pressing social problems that continue to go unrecognized,” Rena Karefa-Johnson, vice president for national initiatives at FWD.us, said in a statement.

“There’s clear opportunity for candidates to embrace meaningful reform, but it is essential to put actions over rhetoric as voters have continued to say they will support elected leaders that put community safety, reuniting families, and justice at the forefront of policy-making.”

Though 67 percent of voters said they believe the criminal justice system needs either a complete overhaul or major reform, including 3 in 5 Republicans, Black voters voiced their support for reform in significantly higher numbers.

While 23 percent of white voters said reducing the number of incarcerated people is “very important,” 43 percent of Black voters said the same.

Seventy-five percent of Black voters said mass incarceration causes many of the problems that lead to unsafe communities such as homelessness, poverty, and drug or mental health challenges, compared to 58 percent of white voters.

While nearly 50 percent of voters said recent criminal justice reform efforts have not gone far enough, 63 percent of Black voters said the same.

For LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, these numbers are unsurprising considering the disproportionate impact the criminal justice system has on Black Americans. 

Studies show Black Americans are five times more likely to be stopped without just cause than white Americans. African Americans are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of whites, according to the NAACP. These numbers affect young Black Americans as well. 

Despite Black children accounting for only 14 percent of the nation’s population, they represent 32 percent of children who are arrested and 42 percent of detained children, according to the NAACP.

“For far too long, Black communities have borne the brunt of the ways in which harsh sentences and mass incarceration harm and destabilize communities and families, without making us any safer,” Brown said. “Black voters have a clear understanding that we deserve more freedom and justice from our elected officials, and that those efforts are critical to the work of building and investing in safe, thriving communities.”

During his 2020 campaign, President Biden pledged to “strengthen America’s commitment to justice and reform our criminal justice system.”

In April 2023, the Biden-Harris administration released its Alternatives, Rehabilitation, and Reentry Strategic Plan in an effort to reduce “unnecessary criminal justice system interactions so police officers can focus on fighting crime; supporting rehabilitation during incarceration; and facilitating successful reentry.”

The plan included steps to expand access to health care, secure access to affordable housing and create job opportunities. 

Biden has also received praise for pardoning thousands convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia.

But he has faced criticism for failing on key campaign promises, including ending the death penalty.

Now, advocates are pushing for Biden — and the Democratic Party at large — to enact meaningful criminal justice reform.

According to the poll, 6 in 10 voters said a candidate supporting criminal justice reform would make them more likely to vote for that candidate.

“The movement to end failed ‘tough on crime narratives’ came out of the communities most ravaged by them,” said Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party. “If Democrats want to win, they need to stand firmly behind criminal justice reform.”

The online survey was conducted Feb. 13-20. It polled 1,191 likely voters nationwide, including an oversample of 273 Black voters. The overall margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.84 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.