Tuesday was a great night for prison reform advocates, as four states approved ballot measures banning slavery or indentured servitude as punishment for a crime.
Voters in Alabama, Tennessee, Vermont, and Oregon approved measures prohibiting the practice. A similar measure in Louisiana—which some prison-labor advocates argued was poorly worded and likely to create further issues—failed. Such solid victories, even in red states, show that a narrow criminal justice issue can be broadly popular with voters.
