Overview: California voters will decide on Proposition 50 in the upcoming Nov. 4 Special Election, which will determine whether to use new, legislatively drawn congressional district maps until 2030 or continue with the current maps drawn by the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. The final day to register to vote was Oct. 20, but eligible citizens can still participate through the “Same Day” voter registration process on election day. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber has emphasized that every vote counts and that voters have multiple options for casting their ballots, including in-person voting, mail-in ballots, and ballot drop-off locations.
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Ahead of the Nov. 4 Special Election, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber hosted a virtual media briefing to provide remarks and updates on the upcoming election.
Here is what voters need to know:
The Special Election is focused on redistricting in the state. Voters will make a decision on Proposition 50, which will require redrawing new congressional district maps for use through 2030. This would put a pause to the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission until 2031. California currently has 52 congressional districts, based on the 2020 Census.
A “Yes” vote means the state would use new, legislatively drawn congressional district maps beginning in 2026. California’s new maps would be used until the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission draws new maps following the 2030 U.S. Census. The purpose of this proposition is to offset similar redistricting efforts in red states being facilitated at the behest of the president.
A “No” vote means current congressional district maps drawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission would continue to be used in California until the Commission draws new maps following the 2030 U.S. Census. No new maps would be drawn beginning in 2026.
Though the final day to register to vote for the Nov. 4 Statewide Special Election was Oct. 20, 2025, eligible citizens who missed the deadline can complete the “Same Day” voter registration process on election day. They can go to their local county elections office or any in-person voting location within their county. Vote centers opened for early in-person voting in all Voter’s Choice Act counties, including Riverside County, beginning on Oct. 25.
In Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) counties, voters have “More Days, More Ways” to vote which includes in-person voting up to 10 days before the election. Voters can also track their ballot through Where’s My Ballot? and ballot drop-off locations opened on Oct. 7.
“If you’re eligible to vote and register the same day, you’ll be a provisional ballot voter, which means your ballot will be held until it is verified that one, you have not registered somewhere else, that you’ve not voted already, and that you’re eligible to register to vote,” Weber said
“Once all of those things are clarified, then your ballot will be counted. So I want you to know that we allow folks to vote up until the end of [the] voting period of November, the fourth in the evening,” Weber continued.
Weber shared that 2.5 million votes have already been counted for California, and emphasized that every vote counts — no matter what the vote is. Weber also stated that there were about 90 ballots that were stolen in Sacramento. The stolen ballots were found and destroyed by Weber’s team and new ballots were sent to the voters whose ballots were taken.
Every voter should have received a ballot by Oct. 6 and if they haven’t Weber encouraged these individuals to notify her and her team. She noted that even if the voter’s ballot was lost, destroyed, or wrongly marked, it is their right to request an additional ballot. The voter doesn’t get to submit two ballots as only one will be counted. Voters can drop their ballots off at a local ballot box, post office, polling place or vote in person. Using the mail-in ballot is just one of the voting options and not mandatory.
“This is as always, for me…a very important opportunity in California to be able to vote. Being just a second generation voter, despite the fact that my [family was]in this country for over 200 years, that I’m just a second generation voter, primarily because they were never allowed to register to vote in the south,” Weber shared.
“It wasn’t until my parents actually came to California and registered to vote that we had it, that my mother and father got their first opportunity to register to vote. My mother was a poll worker, and that was extremely important in our family, because our living room in Los Angeles was the actual polling place that people in that precinct came to vote,” Weber continued.
Weber also urges every voter who plans to mail their vote in to do so early, and vote by Nov. 3 to ensure their ballot is post marked and counted. She noted that the ballot boxes are very secure and that voters also have the right to report any illegal or fraudulent election activity.
When asked about what the secretary of state’s office would do in the event of federal immigration officers coming to the polls, Weber explained such incidents would be addressed by an attorney from the Attorney General’s office. Weber shared that at this point, they don’t have any fears that ICE will intervene in California elections because voters who are casting their ballots are registered to vote. Weber said that if anyone had any concerns regarding encountering ICE, vote by mail or vote early. Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by November 12, 2025.