A ballot measure that will increase the penalties for low-level thefts and drug possession has overwhelming support from California voters, according to a new study from the Public Policy Institute of California.

A new statewide poll in California found that nearly three-quarters of Golden State residents support Proposition 36, a ballot measure that would re-classify some misdemeanors as felonies and would also create a new category of crime called a "treatment-mandated felony.