LOS ANGELES (AP) — After being barraged by radio and TV ads, badgered by celebrities and warned about everything from higher taxes to a Republican power grab, California voters go to the polls Tuesday to decide the fate of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's ballot proposals.

The Republican governor says his four initiatives come down to this: moving the state backward or moving it ahead. But Democrats and powerful labor unions that oppose him see only a vendetta against teachers, firefighters and other working people.

"We must make the government a better servant to the people," the actor-turned-governor said during a last-minute appeal for votes Monday as he canvassed the state in a private jet. He pleaded with residents, "Give me the tools to reform the system."

Actor Warren Beatty, a longtime Democratic activist who has emerged as one of Schwarzenegger's most vocal critics, calls the governor not just wrong but undemocratic.

"You have to look inside these Trojan horses and see what is really there," Beatty told The Associated Press. The initiatives "are deceptively named, and they are not what they appear to be on the outside."

Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver voted at a polling place in a Brentwood garage but left without talking to reporters who had set up a bank of microphones across the street. He did give a thumbs up as he left.

John Miller, 56, a juvenile probation officer and a registered Democrat, was in line when polls opened at a San Francisco firehouse to vote against the propositions in an election he considers a waste of money.

"It's just enflamed the fury I've had against him (Schwarzenegger)," Miller said after voting. "I voted against everything he's for, straight down the line. I basically voted against the election. It's a waste of taxpayer money."

Voter Steve McClanahan, 38, a registered Independent, voted at the same firehouse and also complained about the cost of the election.

"He came in as a guy who was fiscally conservative but a moderate at the same time. I can respect that," he said. "But this proves he's a liberally spending moderate as well. This is such a waste of taxpayer money."

Thell Sebastian, 39, a Democrat from Fresno, echoed the cost concerns.

"He's stepped into a big mess here," Sebastian said. "He's all about saving money, but this is costing us a lot."

Schwarzenegger's proposals represent an epic fight for power in Sacramento. If approved, they would undercut the power of the majority Democrats and the public employee unions that have frustrated Schwarzenegger's agenda while slowing runaway state spending.

The outcome of the election could blot his re-election hopes or provide fresh evidence of his populist clout.

The secretary of state has projected that 42 percent of registered voters will cast ballots in what will be California's fifth statewide special election.

Strategy on both sides has focused on energizing core supporters, with voter turnout likely to be a deciding factor for many of the initiatives.

For Republicans, the get-out-the-vote effort has involved an appeal to Christian conservatives to support an abortion-related initiative that the governor supports but hasn't campaigned for. Republican pollsters hope a wave of conservatives turning out for Proposition 73, which would require doctors to notify parents or guardians when a minor seeks an abortion, will translate into trickle-down support for the governor's measures.

Democrats and labor groups have focused on getting union members to the polls, encouraging a blanket "no" vote on most of the eight initiatives on Tuesday's ballot.

With time running out Monday, Schwarzenegger made seven stops while thousands of union workers, including teachers and firefighters, knocked on doors to urge voters to turn against his slate of four initiatives.

Schwarzenegger faced long odds, according to several recent independent polls. Democrats and labor unions have spent more than $100 million to defeat him, outspending Schwarzenegger by about 2-1. The polls have shown that none of Schwarzenegger's proposals has majority support among likely California voters.

Schwarzenegger has warned of tax increases and other dire consequences if his four-part plan fails Tuesday, while Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, has accused the governor of trying to make himself "a king" at the statehouse.

The defeat of his proposals would leave the governor looking politically vulnerable just as his 2006 re-election campaign gets under way. But with polls running against him, winning even one initiative would remind Democrats that his public standing may be only temporarily damaged.

Schwarzenegger has dismissed polls and cast the election as a second step toward reform after the 2003 gubernatorial recall election. After a steep drop in popularity, he has sought to recapture the outsider credentials that propelled him to office that year.

The governor called the election in June to promote three initiatives: Proposition 74, which would lengthen teachers' probationary period from two years to five and make it easier to fire veteran teachers; Proposition 76, which would set a state spending limit and give the governor authority to make midyear budget cuts; and Proposition 77, which would transfer the power to draw legislative boundaries from state lawmakers to a panel of retired judges.

Schwarzenegger later endorsed Proposition 75, which would require public employee unions to get written permission from members before using their dues for political purposes. Schwarzenegger has since included that measure in his four-part agenda.

Two other propositions offer dueling visions to lower prescription drug costs for the uninsured, while another seeks to reregulate part of California's electricity market.

California has held four statewide special elections since 1910, putting a combined 15 ballot measures before voters. Seven of those were approved, including a half-cent sales tax to support law enforcement in 1993.

In the past, voters have turned back initiatives similar to some of those being pushed by Schwarzenegger. Between 1982 and 1990, voters rejected several proposals to change the way the state draws political district boundaries. In 1973, voters rejected Proposition 1, championed by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan, which would have cut income taxes and placed strict controls on state spending.