With five days to go until voters decide on Proposition 8, which would eliminate same-sex marriage, the No on 8 campaign has caught up with the other side in dollars raised, but more volunteers, and more money to buy ad time, are needed to combat whatever the Yes on 8 campaign unleashes.

"We're not going to let up. We can't let up for one minute," Patrick Guerrero, No on 8 campaign director, said in a conference call with LGBT media outlets Tuesday, October 28.

Earlier this month, No on 8 sent out an urgent call for help when polls showed the measure winning and the campaign needed to raise more than $10 million before the November 4 election.

Guerriero said that the campaign has caught up with the measure's backers and has now raised over $32 million. He said No on 8 also has more than 53,000 donors who have given under $100, a significant increase from just weeks ago when the campaign only had 30,000 donors. Both sides have raised more than $60 million, making Prop 8 the most expensive social issue ballot fight in the country.

Also Tuesday, No on 8 launched a TV commercial featuring Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California), the most popular elected official in the state. In the spot, Feinstein looks directly into the camera and tells voters that, no matter how they feel about marriage, they should vote against discrimination, and vote no on Prop 8.

"Voters will listen," Guerriero said.

Mayor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday night that he had yet to see Feinstein's commercial but was grateful that the senator had stepped up to help defeat Prop 8. Only four years ago Feinstein angered many in the gay community when she said that Newsom had acted "too fast, too soon" in ordering city officials to perform same-sex weddings.

"I couldn't be more proud of Senator Feinstein. I am extremely thankful for the senator's decision," said Newsom. "It will be incredibly impactful for our efforts."

Guerriero said polls and tracking data available to the campaign indicate the race is going to be a dead heat. Various polls show the No on 8 side "up or down a few" points, Guerriero said, adding that, "We're coming back, and we're coming back strong."

On October 23, the Public Policy Institute of California released a poll showing 52 percent of likely voters would oppose Prop 8, while 44 percent would support it. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Three simple things

Guerriero said there are three simple things people can do: make a donation, volunteer, and use the templates on the No on 8 Web site to spread the message to others. He noted that beginning those conversations with others in an effort to persuade them to vote no could make the difference.

In terms of the volunteer effort, No on 8 hopes to enlist 5,000 volunteers to take part in visibility efforts around the state between now and Election Day.

"We're going to have a massive mobilization," Guerriero said, including news conferences and other activities that he would not disclose.

Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and a member of the No on 8 executive committee, said there's been a shift in momentum, but "In this last week, we are all feeling a tremendous amount of anxiety."

Referring to Yes on 8, she said, "They see what's at stake, and they're pretty much willing to pull out any stops."

Yes on 8 recently sent a letter demanding money to a San Diego business that had donated to Equality California (see story, page 2) and the campaign has lied in its ads, she said. Kendell said Prop 8's backers are about to unleash "a tidal wave of money" and volunteers.

Guerriero and Kendell pointed to a Monday, October 27 New York Times story that quoted Charles W. Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries as saying, "This vote on whether we stop the gay-marriage juggernaut in California is Armageddon. We lose this, we are going to lose in a lot of other ways, including freedom of religion." Colson had been speaking to pastors in a video promoting Prop 8, the Times reported. Colson is a convicted felon who served in the Nixon administration.

The paper also quoted Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, as saying Prop 8 is "more important than the presidential election."

On Wednesday, October 29, the Yes on 8 campaign announced it had launched three new commercials, one in English and two in Spanish. Among other things, the English-language ad ties Prop 8 to children being taught about same-sex marriage in schools. Education leaders, including Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of public instruction, have vehemently disputed that connection.

The No on 8 campaign recently launched a new Spanish-language ad featuring stars of the hit TV show Ugly Betty .

For more information, visit www.noonprop8.com.