Voters in Ohio and Alabama on Tuesday chose to make their states’ respective cash bail systems more stringent, electing in different ways to enshrine a dangerousness standard when determining a defendant’s suitability for release before trial…

Despite New Jersey’s success in offering a prototype for reforming cash bail while protecting public safety, the debate has become increasingly politicized. Many reformers say that a dangerousness standard is racist, while law-and-order politicians are likely to present any bail reform as a driver of violent crime.

The answer is more nuanced than either major political party would want their base to believe.

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