California Special Election

November 4, 2025
(35th edition)

About This Election

What's on the ballot:  

• All California voters are eligible to vote on Proposition 50, a measure placed on the ballot by the California Legislature to redraw California's congressional districts before the 2026 election. 
   
• Some voters will also have local contests to vote on their ballots (see this list from the Secretary of State and check your county election office website for more information)
   
• Visit CVF's Close Count Transparency Project to learn the status of the vote count, or the Secretary of State's Live Election Results page

2025 IN-PERSON VOTING OPTIONS
BY COUNTY

Important Dates:

• September 20:   Deadline for counties to mail ballots to military and overseas voters
• October 6:   Counties must begin mailing vote-by-mail ballots to all registered voters; first day of early voting; all voters may vote in county election offices during business hours
• October 7:  Ballot drop-off locations open in Voter's Choice Act counties
• October 20:  Last day to register to vote in time to receive a ballot in the mail
• October 21 - November 4:  Conditional, "same day" voter registration available at all voting sites and county election offices
• October 25:  11-day vote centers open in Voter's Choice Act counties
• November 1:  4-day vote centers open in Voter's Choice Act counties
• November 4:  Election Day - polling places and vote centers are open statewide 7 am - 8 pm; most but not all drop-off locations are open til 8 pm; ballot returned via US Mail must be postmarked on or before Nov. 5 and received by Nov. 11 to be counted. 
• Sunday, November 30, 5 pm:  Deadline for voters to cure signature issues on ballot envelopes
• December 2:  First day for counties to certify county election results
• December 4:  Last day for counties to certify county election results
• December 12: Deadline for the Secretary of State to certify statewide election results

Resources

From the California Voter Foundation:

• Voting FAQ

• Contact Your County Election Office

• Online Voter Tools - Check Your Voting Status

• Vote-by-Mail tips:

From the California Secretary of State:

• General Election Home Page
• Find Your Polling Place or Ballot Drop-off Location
• Official California Voter Information Guide
• Where's My Ballot? Vote-by-mail ballot tracking service
• Mail Ballot Returns by County (new!)
• About the Voter's Choice Act
• Trusted Election Information
• See what Voting Equipment your county uses
• Election Observation Rights and Responsibilities
• Official Special Election Calendar
• About Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail voting
• Early voting and drop-off locations 
• Report election mis- and disinformation to the Office of Election Cybersecurity
• Cal-Access and PowerSearch -  official campaign finance disclosure web site for the State of California 
• Guidance for Military and Overseas Voters 
• Promote the Vote California initiative
• State election regulations for ballot counting, recounts, manual tallies to verify election results, observing elections and more 

From the California Attorney General:

• News Release:  Know Your Voting Rights, Ensure Your Voice is Heard: Guidance for Voters from Attorney General Bonta and Secretary of State Weber
• Protecting California Voters from Election Interference and Voter Intimidation and Deception (2024)
• Access to Voting for Eligible Persons Under the Supervision of Probation Departments (2022)
• Access to Voting for Eligible Person With a Criminal History or Who are Incarcerated (2022)

CVF recommends these additional nonpartisan voter resources:

• CalMatters' 2025 Voter Guide
• League of Women Voters of California's Prop. 50 Pros & Cons and the Easy Voter Guide (available in multiple languages)
• Top Ten Proposition Donors and total amount raised from the Fair Political Practices Commission
• Find your political districts from CalMatters and see if it would change if Prop. 50 passes
• The Sacramento Bee's Prop. 50 Voter Guide
• Disability Rights California's Your Rights as a Voter with a Disability and Hotline for voters with disabilities: 1-888-569-7955
• Election Protection Hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE
• Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot and Backup Ballot from the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP)
• Verified Voting:  California voting systems and California recount laws

Archived editions of CVF's California Online Voter Guide:

• November 2024 Presidential General Election and Close Count Transparency Project
• March 2024 Presidential Primary Election
• November 2022 Statewide General Election
• June 2022 Statewide Primary Election
• September 2021 Statewide Recall Election
• November 2020 Presidential General Election
• March 2020 Presidential Primary Election 
• November 2018 General Election
• 1994 - Primary 2018, plus other archived election resources are accessible via CVF's Archived Elections page