Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s veto of the California Legislature’s historic marriage equality bill last month gives LGBT Californians a compelling reason to look elsewhere for leadership.

The special statewide election, less than four weeks away, now gives GLBT people a rare opportunity to move the calendar up 12 months. By showing up to vote on Nov. 8, GLBT people and others hurt by the Schwarzenegger administration can give the governor a hint of what he can expect next fall.

Simply put: It’s payback time. He said no to us, and now we need to say no to him.

Schwarzenegger called the special election back in March in order to bypass our elected representatives and bully his agenda directly to California voters. As if the governor’s veto of the marriage equality bill authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno was not enough of a reason for voters to junk his agenda, five of the eight propositions on the ballot, if passed by voters on Nov. 8, would further hurt the GLBT community.

Schwarzenegger’s package includes measures that may roll back reproductive rights of Californians; shape how legislative district boundaries are drawn to elect more anti-equality, right-wing candidates; give school administrators greater authority to discriminate against GLBT teachers; silence hardworking families; and reduce funding levels of schools, health care programs and emergency services. Costs of politicking aside, Secretary of State Bruce McPherson estimates that as much as $80 million may be spent simply to hold the election.

Bottom line: People’s lives may be dramatically affected by what happens at the ballot box on Nov. 8.

The fine print: For every one voter in California who will participate in the special election, there may be three eligible Californian voters sitting it out. In the special election called by Gov. Jerry Brown in 1979, for example, only 24.8 percent of eligible voters turned out (about 3.7 million voters). And the turnout for the special election called by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1993 was only slightly higher, at 27.7 percent. We can hope that the upcoming special election turnout will exceed expectations, that each and every registered voter will show up at the polls on Nov. 8, and that those who are not yet registered to vote do so by the Oct. 24 deadline for this election.

If 3 million GLBTs call California their home, it’s easy to see how powerful a unified GLBT voice can be in an election that brings only 5 or 6 million voters to the polls. Those who are skeptical that individual votes matter on Election Day need only to look at the presidential balloting in Florida in 2000. Even races not expected to be competitive could be tipped in the right direction by an energized turnout of a bloc of GLBT voters.

A drive to get out the vote is not exactly a revolutionary political strategy. Opponents of GLBT rights, too, recognize the power of the ballot, and attempt to put their stamp on each and every election. Initiatives that would roll back domestic partner benefits in California and spell doom for the marriage equality movement could be placed on next year’s primary or gubernatorial election ballots, and will be bait to draw our opposition to the polls.

We must trump their turnout – and then some. It is vital that each and every GLBT Californian gets educated on what’s at stake in the special election, consider how each measure would affect the GLBT community, and, most important, vote in the Nov. 8 election.

If you are already registered to vote, don’t fail to cast a ballot. Plan to vote on Nov. 8, submit an absentee ballot application by Nov. 1 and make sure that election officials have your ballot by Election Day. If you are not registered to vote, do so by Oct. 24. Find complete voter registration materials at www.eqca.org and keep our community moving toward full equality.

Governor Schwarzenegger certainly has given GLBT Californians reason to resist his blitzkrieg. If GLBT Californians mobilize and begin to flex their political clout, we can prevent further erosion of our rights.

And that will make California’s Nov. 8 election truly special and send Arnold Schwarzenegger a message he won’t soon forget.