Updated 11/03/04 11:01 AM
California voters Tuesday overwhelmingly approved Proposition 59, which will make access to government information a constitutional right.

Updated 11/2/04 11:15 PM
Buried among 16 ballot measures and a nail-biter of a presidential race, Prop 1A didn’t exactly register high on the list of priorities of voters here. In fact, most Californians went to the polls Tuesday having never heard of the complex initiative that promised to change the way state and local entities provide services to their residents.

Updated 11/2/04 10:56 PM
California voters Tuesday approved a controversial $3 billion bond measure that would put the state in the business of stem cell research.

Heavy metal musician Joe Van Fossen climbed into his friend’s 1997 Toyota RAV 4 and road-tripped with his guitarist and one of his best friends 300 miles from Orange County to Las Vegas to knock on doors for John Kerry. Twenty-five year old Kelly Hillman of Newport Beach took a Friday evening flight out to Oregon from Southern California to hand out literature and encourage registered voters to get to the polls to re-elect President George W. Bush.

Bruce Harrington still has trouble talking about the death of his younger brother, Keith. It was almost 25 years ago that Keith and his wife, Patti, were killed when an intruder entered their southern California home, raped Patti and then bludgeoned them both to death.

California's emergency hospitals, community clinics, and the 911 telephone systems would receive additional funding through a telephone surcharge if voters approve Proposition 67 today.

Proposition 59 has been overshadowed by the more controversial initiatives on stem cell research, casino money, and the three strikes law this election season. But the proposition, which would give Californians a constitutional right to access government information, nonetheless, makes important changes in existing law.

Through the use of previously obscure groups known as 527s, more money will be spent on this year’s presidential election than any previous race, and California donors are high on the list of top donors.

Forty-one year-old Brian Smith represents the heart of the debate about whether Proposition 66, a ballot measure to liberalize California’s strictest in the nation three strikes law, is a good thing.

OAKLAND -- Christina Cummings, 15, said she started working with New Voters are Rising, a nonpartisan voter registration project, because her mom signed her up. All summer she strolled the Bay Area malls, canvassed at events like the UniverSoul Circus and walked Oakland's precincts registering citizens to vote.

BERKELEY -- As health insurance costs increase and the ranks of uninsured workers grow, California unions are putting their muscle behind Proposition 72, which will guarantee health care coverage for workers at large and mid-size companies.

OAKLAND -- Ramona Garcia has spent months canvassing and calling her East Oakland neighbors to encourage them to vote yes on Measure Y, which will fund additional police officers and crime-prevention programs. Yet come Tuesday, Garcia will be unable to cast her own vote.

BERKELEY -- At first, the August 1980 murders of Keith and Patty Harrington seemed random. It took 20 years for investigators to link their deaths to a brutal string of murders in the Bay Area and Orange County. Using DNA samples taken at the scene, investigators determined that the Harringtons were victims of a murderer dubbed the original Nightstalker.

OAKLAND -- On the last Friday evening before the election in Oakland's Chinatown, the streets looked deserted. Shopkeepers had already brought in the produce that lined the sidewalks earlier in the day.

OAKLAND -- When Arthur O'Neal first came to Oakland from rural Arkansas in 1959, California was full of surprises. The Spanish names were new to him — he pronounced Vallejo as "Valley-Joe." He went from making $6 a week on a farm back home to $1.75 an hour on a garbage truck here. And in 1960, at the age of 31, he voted for the first time.

ALBANY -- Ken Meade served as an assemblyman in California's legislature for several years, but even he sometimes has trouble voting on initiatives. Meade, who represented parts of Alameda County from 1971 to 1976, said initiatives are confusing with their convoluted language and cavalier advertising campaigns.