Anti-Harris Ad Misleads on Enforcement of ‘Jessica’s Law’ in California

Este artículo estará disponible en español en El Tiempo Latino. A misleading TV ad from a pro-Donald Trump super PAC claims that, as the attorney general of California, Vice President Kamala Harris “ignored” a state law and “allowed convicted sex offenders to live near schools and parks.” That’s a distortion of what happened. In fact, Harris defended the law in court until the Supreme Court of California ruled that the law’s residency restrictions for certain registered sex offenders had been unconstitutionally enforced in San Diego County. Harris’ office later advised the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that blanket application of the law also could be found unconstitutional in other counties. State corrections officials then revised their policy to implement the law on a case-by-case basis, primarily focusing on enforcement against high-risk sex offenders and individuals whose crimes involved young children. But the MAGA Inc. ad could give the false impression that there was no enforcement. The ad portraying Harris as soft on crime was released on Oct. 9, and the super PAC has spent more than $19 million to run it thousands of times in at least five electoral swing states, according to AdImpact, which tracks political advertising. The...