Californians voted to modify the state's term limits law, and a measure to tax cigarettes was in a close race.
Links: Election Results | More Decision 2012
With all precincts reporting, 50.8 percent of voters said "No" to Proposition 29, which would tax cigarette packs $1 and raise $735 million annually for research into the causes, prevention and treatment of cancer.
Many mail-in ballots, provisional ballots and other late-arriving votes remain to be counted, so the race has not been called. These ballots typically comprise up to 20 percent of all votes, according to the Associated Press, so that means potentially hundreds of thousands of votes are still to be counted statewide.
Proposition 28, which would existing change term limits by allowing elected officials to serve up to 12 years in either house of the state Legislature but would reduce the overall amount of time a politician could serve, passed with 61.4 percent of the vote.
30th Congressional District
In the hotly contested race between Congressmen Brad Sherman and Howard Berman to represent the newly created 30th Congressional District in the San Fernando Valley, Sherman was the victor. With all precincts reporting, Sherman had 42.4 percent of the vote, compared to Berman's 32.4 percent. Five other candidates took the rest of the votes.
Berman and Sherman will face each other again in a Nov. 6 runoff election - even though they are both Democrats.
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LA District Attorney
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jackie Lacey took the top spot in the race to replace retiring D.A. Steve Cooley. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Lacey had 32 percent of the vote. Prosecutor Alan Jackson followed with 23.7 percent, and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, widely viewed as a favorite, trailed with 22.3 percent.
That result means a November run-off between Jackson and Lacey.
Other Races
In Riverside, Councilman William "Rusty" Bailey led a pack of seven contenders vying to replace retiring mayor Ron Loveridge. With 8 percent of precincts reporting, Bailey had 36 percent of the votes, with Councilman Ed Adkison a close second with 33 percent.
in San Bernardino County, early returns gave a slight lead to incumbent Gary Miller in the redrawn 31st District at 27 percent of votes with 2 percent of precincts reporting. Robert (Bob) Dutton was just behind wtih 25 and Pete Aguilar had 22 percent in the six-person race.
With about all precincts counted in Ventura County's 26th Congressional District, State Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks) had 44.2 percent of the vote. Julie Brownley, a Democrat who currently serves in the California assembly, was in second place, with 26.8 percent of the vote. Linda Parks, an independent Ventura ounty supervisor who was thought to have a chance of creating an runoff that knocked one of the two major parties off the ballot, finished third with 18.5 percent of the vote.
In the primary race for U.S. Senate, incumbent Dianne Feinstein was far ahead of all competitors in early results, taking 51 percent of all ballots cast.
California voters headed to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in a number of key races, including those for the county's top prosecutor, a cigarette tax, a change in legislative term limits and a hotly contested redistricting race that pitted two veteran congressman against each other.
Follow our NBC4 reporters in the field and use #Election2012 for the latest election night news:
Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Proposition 29 would raise $800,000 annually. The Secretary of State estimates it would raise $735 million, and the story has been updated with correct information.
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