With few exceptions, residents of coastal counties voted to defeat the initiative, and residents of inland counties voted to pass it.

With more than a third of the state’s precinct results in by 10:45 p.m., Proposition 85 trailed by just three percentage points.

At Medjool’s restaurant, the headquarters for “Campaign for Real Teen Safety – No on 85”, volunteers were hopeful but took nothing for granted.

Katie Roberts of San Francisco walked the city with her bulldog, Bentley, which she called the “official ‘No on 85’ mascot”.

“I think the early results have been great… especially the absentee ballots,” Roberts said. “The evening got off to a strong start. I hope that it continues.”

Nicole Puller of Oakland felt confident that the campaign volunteers’ hard work today would pay off.

“I’m hopeful that we may have swayed it. We talked to a lot of people who decided to vote who may not have voted otherwise.”

Proposition 85 would amend the state constitution to require that a minor girl’s parent be given written notice before she can obtain an abortion. If a minor does not want to get parental consent, she can appeal to a judge for an exemption. A physician could also determine that the abortion was necessary “due to a medical emergency.”

A poll conducted last week by the Field Poll predicted that California’s costal voters would oppose the initiative. Those most strongly in favor of Proposition 85 tend to be male, Republican, and inland voters. Religious groups are split over the measure. Approximately 11% of California voters were undecided on the measure – so they will be the ones who decide the proposition’s outcome.

If Proposition 85 passes, California will join 34 other states that currently require either parental notification or parental consent before a minor female can obtain an abortion. Oregon voters are considering a similar initiative.

There’s only one thing that supporters and opponents of Proposition 85 agreed on: the stakes in this election were huge.

Supporters of Proposition 85 claimed that the initiative would promote good family communication and that a girl would behave more responsibly if she knew that her parents would find out if she became pregnant.

Opponents of Proposition 85 claimed that the overwhelming majority of pregnant teenage girls already involved their parents or a trusted relative in their decisions about whether or not to get abortions. Opponents feared for the girls who lived in abusive homes where talking openly to a parent was not an option. They considered the proposition an attempt to chip away at a young woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy.