The battle of the airwaves is gaining pitch in California over Proposition 2—the groundbreaking measure to give farm animals a little relief from cruel confinement. But it’s always good to know a little bit about the people who are telling you how to vote.

If you open your daily newspaper this coming week, chances are you will be greeted with a message of compassion for farm animals. That’s because Patrick McDonnell, the creator of the comic strip MUTTS, has dedicated a full week beginning this Sunday to the theme of protecting farm animals from cruelty.

A few months back, The New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof called California’s Proposition 2 “the most important election this November that you’ve never heard of.” And now, the full editorial board of the newspaper of record is doing its part to make sure as many people as possible do hear about Prop 2. It’s certainly a rare move for a national newspaper to weigh in on a state election occurring on the opposite coast, underscoring the significance of Prop 2 for the entire country.

The YES! on Prop 2 campaign launched two new television ads this week in California, showing voters statewide the cruelties of factory farming. The ads are narrated by two California veterinarians—Dr. Kate Hurley, professor at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Jeff Smith, past president of the California Veterinary Medical Association—telling voters that all animals deserve humane treatment, including those raised for food.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel today became the latest California newspaper to endorse a vote of YES! on Proposition 2. While some other newspaper editorial writers fell for the scare tactics of Big Agribusiness on Prop 2, plenty of opinion leaders have taken a thoughtful and careful look at the measure and have come down on the side of protecting animals and food safety. I’d like to share with you some of the best excerpts from the editorials that have appeared so far in the campaign.

Growing up in my neighborhood, everyone loved a good block party—meeting friends and neighbors, gathering together for a common purpose. Now, with just five weeks until one of the most critical elections in our lifetime, we have a new purpose, and a new type of “bloc” party.

Ever since “The Meatrix” came out in 2003, I’ve wanted to work with Free Range Studios. Now, the aptly named moviemakers are shining a spotlight on more factory farm abuses, and their new animated film urges Californians to vote YES! on Proposition 2 this November.

Last month I reported on congressional candidates who are harnessing pet power on the campaign trail. Now that we’re less than six weeks from Election Day, the race to the White House, too, is getting some attention from our canine and feline friends.

Yesterday on Capitol Hill, I introduced Nigel Barker of “America’s Next Top Model” to a packed room of congressional staff and guests, where he showed his new documentary film—“A Sealed Fate?”—chronicling his work with The Humane Society of the United States to stop the commercial seal slaughter on Canada’s Atlantic coast.

In the 24 states that allow voters to create laws and place them directly on the ballot, legislators have tried some dirty tricks to foil citizen lawmaking. In 2006, Florida amended its state constitution to require 60 percent of the vote—rather than a simple majority—to pass any ballot initiative.