Redistricting and farm animal propositions enjoy early leads

Californians appeared poised Tuesday to adopt groundbreaking changes in how legislative districts are drawn and farm animals are treated while rejecting renewable energy and big-ticket criminal justice propositions, according to early returns.

The initiatives were among 11 sharing the ballot with the proposed same-sex marriage ban.

Two of the most hotly debated propositions -- one calling for parental notification before an abortion, the other a nearly $10-billion bond measure to build a bullet train system linking Southern and Northern California -- were locked in a dead heat.

As is often the case, backers of the blizzard of propositions were seeking to set national precedents, ignite trends or fundamentally change the way the Golden State works.

* The vote on Proposition 4 was deadlocked in initial returns. The measure marked the third time since 2005 that state voters have been asked to decide whether parents must be notified before girls younger than 18 get abortions.

Foes at the state's Planned Parenthood chapters, the ACLU and California Medical Assn. said a 48-hour notification law cannot compel healthy family communication -- and might drive some girls to seek unsafe abortions.

Backers maintained that parents have a right to know if their children are seeking such a major medical procedure. Without a notification, they said, parents might be unaware that their child had endured a sexual assault or fail to realize the cause of possible medical complications after an abortion.

* Proposition 2, which would determine the fate of penned farm animals, appeared to be winning by a large margin.

The high-stakes measure, debated heavily on TV, pitted animal rights activists against farm groups on the question of whether egg-laying hens, veal calves and pregnant sows should be allowed more room in pens and cages.

Opponents said it would increase the price of California-raised eggs, potentially crippling a thriving industry. Backers argued that farm animals deserve humane treatment and said the changes would cost consumers just a few cents per dozen eggs. (California produces little veal, and the state's largest pork producer voluntarily plans to eliminate small crates.)

* A trio of measures offered starkly different choices on matters of criminal justice.