Voters don't want to hear Trump and Harris arguing about crime. They want to hear the best solutions

In the weeks since President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, a new narrative about the election has emerged.

In one corner sits presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris — the former California Attorney General who says she's here to “prosecute the case” against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. In the other corner sits Trump, the self-proclaimed law-and-order candidate who wants to “make America safe again.” Voters were already concerned with crime before. Now it's at the center of the debate — and both candidates will work hard to win voters' trust on the safety issue.

They should remember that Americans are not interested in overheated rhetoric or petty name-calling. What people want are real solutions that make our communities safer and more just.

A debate under these conditions – constructive and forward-looking – would deviate from the historical norm. Too often, our political discourse on crime and safety has become a war of constant escalation, with candidates doing everything they can to claim the reputation of being “tough on crime.” This dynamic has done nothing to improve public safety. Instead, it has given us the war on drugs and the highest incarceration rate in the world.

Is this really a mistake we want to repeat?

The polls suggest otherwise. Last year, Gallup showed that when asked if the criminal justice system was “too strict” or “not strict enough,” most Americans said it needed to be stricter. But then the pollsters went a step further and asked people what should actually be done. The most common answer was not to hire more police. It should address the social and economic problems that lead to crime in the first place – by a 2-to-1 margin.

Without leadership from above, people have spent the last decade building these solutions from the ground up. Their movement appears under the broad banner of “criminal justice reform.” But the work is actually better understood as a process of democracy unfolding in cities and towns across the country – in the red, blue and purple counties.

Reformers are everyday people working to ensure safety and justice in the communities where they live. Together, they work to understand what drives crime in their community, from family instability to a lack of mental health services. They develop strategies to address those problems. They build political power and support networks. And they work with elected officials to push for better laws.

The reform movement has achieved remarkable successes. Starting with the fact that, according to a report by the nonpartisan group FWD.us, three out of four Americans – Democrats and Republicans – now believe in its goals.

Many of the law's solutions resonate with voters and lawmakers alike. States have passed laws to give police the resources they need while improving oversight and accountability. They've made progress on other fronts, too: strengthening the public defense system, eliminating mandatory minimum sentences and life without parole for juveniles, creating diversion and diversion programs, funding education and workforce development in prisons, expanding access to parole, sealing criminal records and ensuring that people leaving the prison system have the support they need to successfully reintegrate into society.

Meanwhile, the number of prisoners is decreasing in many places and the crime rate is falling rapidly.

We must protect these valuable achievements. And we must not allow the overheated rhetoric of a presidential election to prevent us from achieving even more.

The first step is to highlight the progress that has been made. For example, the Republican state of Oklahoma just passed a law to help victims of domestic violence who were in prison for fighting back. Their sentences will now be reduced, thanks to a politically diverse group of advocates, lawmakers, donors and community members who have worked for two years to right an obvious wrong.

Stories like this remind us that “tough on crime” policies are not the only option. Even in a time of deep political division—and at a moment when the presidential election will drive us even further apart—we still have the power to create change across party lines.

It is only when we lose sight of this fact that laws like the Safer Kentucky Act come into being, which promises to lock up even more people in the state's overcrowded prison system – some for life – while doing nothing to prevent crime.

People seeking elected office – Trump, Harris, and everyone else on the lower ballots – should take this to heart. Voters may be willing to support a bad policy if it's the only thing on the list. But if you really listen to what they're asking for and give them a choice between senseless punishment and pragmatic solutions that bring safety, accountability, and justice, they will choose the better option. Sometimes good policy really is good policy.

If we can keep this in mind, I am optimistic about public safety measures across the country in November – regardless of who moves into the White House.

No matter what happens, I urge everyone who cares about these issues, and especially the donors who support this movement, to stay engaged. Politics is fleeting. Candidates come and go. But as we have proven together over the past decade, the criminal justice reform movement is here to stay.

If we continue to invest in smart policies that the majority of Americans want, this work can remain a perpetual, bipartisan focus that can lead to success in every state.

Trump and Harris may have the loudest megaphones. But what matters most is the voice of the voters, and they have made their wishes clear.