House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) came out in support of California’s adult-use Proposition 64 on Friday, telling the Los Angeles Times she’ll cast her ballot for the measure.
“I will vote for it, but I have not made a public statement about it until right this very second,” Pelosi said, according to the Times, which published the news Friday afternoon. The paper said she didn’t elaborate.
Pelosi, who leads Democrats in the US House of Representatives, is one of of only a small number of high-ranking public officials in who’ve come out in support of adult-use legalization. Others include state Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, bipartisan members of Congress—including US Reps. Jared Huffman, Barbara Lee, Ted Lieu, Tom McClintock, Dana Rohrabacher, and Eric Swalwell. Perhaps the most visible elected official to back the measure, however, is from clear across the country. US Sen. Bernie Sanders told supporters in Santa Barbara back in May that he supports Prop 64. “If I were a citizen of California,” he said,” I would vote for that ballot item to legalize marijuana.”
Based on polling data, the measure is likely to pass. The latest poll, put out by USC Dornsife and the LA Times, found 58 percent support among likely voters, while 37 percent were opposed. That’s a slight uptick in support since the last poll was released, about a week ago. Five percent of voters still say they remain undecided.