Senate Bill 280 was passed and signed into law on August 21, 2025.

This bill calls for a special election to be held November 4, 2025.  At this election, voters will be asked to vote on Assembly Constitutional Amendment 8, and specifies this question will be designated Proposition 50. 

Proposed new congressional districts can be viewed here or you can see a side by side view of the current and proposed maps here.

Per Senate Bill 280, all counties that operate Vote Centers must do so in accordance with the following provisions:

• From November 1, 2025 to November 3, 2025, for a minimum of eight hours per day, and on November 4, 2025 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., at least one vote center shall be provided for every 30,000 registered voters within the county.
• Beginning October 25, 2025, and continuing daily up to and including October 31, 2025, for a minimum of 8 hours a day, at least one vote center shall be provided for every 60,000 registered voters within the county.

Per Senate Bill 280, the county elections official shall not certify the results of the November 4, 2025 statewide special election prior to the 28th calendar day following the election (December 2, 2025).

In-person Voting and Services

Elections Department Vote Center will be open from 9 am to 5 pm (open daily during lunch) beginning Monday, October 6, 2025 through Friday, October 24.

Elections Department Vote Center will be open from 9 am to 5 pm (open on the weekends and daily during lunch) beginning Saturday, October 25, 2025 through Monday, November 3, 2025.

Odd Fellows (IOOF) Vote Center will be open from 9 am to 5 pm (open on the weekend and daily during lunch) beginning Saturday, Nov 1, 2025 through Monday, November 3, 2025.

Elections Department and Odd Fellows Vote Center will be open from 7 am to 8 pm on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

Wait times at an open Vote Center may be viewed on our Wait Times Page.

IMPORTANT: Both Vote Center locations will have a Multilingual Virtual Poll Worker (MVP) available, with poll workers ready to assist. The MVP provides real-time video interpreting in 40+ languages plus ASL, and phone interpreting in 240+ languages (including Native American dialects). The program is easy to use on an iPad or phone, it ensures voters receive instant language assistance at the vote centers.

Vote-By-Mail Service and Opportunities
All active registered voters will receive a Voting Kit (Official Ballot, Ballot Return Envelope & Informational Insert) and County Voter Information Guide, in separate mailings, the week of October 6, 2025.

The state voter information guide will be mailed by the California Secretary of State and will arrive through the mail the week of October 6, 2025.

Drop boxes will open on Monday, October 6, 2025 and will remain open until Tuesday, November 4, 2025 at 8 p.m.

Any registered voter in the State of California can use the following official Drop Boxes:

• County Library 

• Community Food Bank on San Felipe Rd.

• Ridgemark Office Parking lot

• Windmill Shopping Center in San Juan Bautista

Note: If you are not a San Benito County voter and you drop off your Vote-By-Mail ballot in a San Benito County drop box, the elections department will mail your Vote-By-Mail to the correct county within seven days of receiving it.

Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail (RAVBM) Request on My Voter Status
A voter can contact a county elections official directly to request RAVBM system access. Additionally, for voters requesting the delivery of a ballot pursuant to Elections Code section 3021.5 (out-of-state emergency workers), RAVBM system access can also be provided as a form of delivery of the ballot by the elections official. 

A voter will be able to request access to an RAVBM system for the 2025 Statewide Special Election on My Voter Status beginning on October 6, 2025 (E- 29) through the close of polls on Election Day.
If a voter requests access to an RAVBM system on My Voter Status, VoteCal will send the county Election Management System (EMS) a notice that the voter has submitted a request for RAVBM access for this election. VoteCal will not store this request in the voter’s record. Voters who are requesting RAVBM access are also required to provide an email address if they don’t currently have one on file and are asked to provide a phone number; however, the phone number is not required.
Counties are expected to receive the request and issue RAVBM access to the voter in a manner consistent with the county’s current process. 

AUTHORIZES TEMPORARY CHANGES TO CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT MAPS IN RESPONSE TO TEXAS' PARTISAN REDISTRICTING. LEGISLATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Requires temporary use of new congressional district maps through 2030. Directs independent Citizens Redistricting Commission to resume enacting congressional district maps in 2031. Establishes policy supporting nonpartisan redistricting commissions nationwide. Fiscal Impact: One-time costs to counties of up to a few million dollars statewide to update election materials to reflect new congressional district maps. 

AUTORIZA CAMBIOS TEMPORALES EN MAPAS DE DISTRITOS CONGRESIONALES EN RESPUESTA A LA REDISTRIBUCIÓN PARTIDISTA DE TEXAS. ENMIENDA CONSTITUCIONAL LEGISLATIVA. Requiere el uso temporal de nuevos mapas de distritos congresionales hasta 2030. Ordena a la Comisión Ciudadana independiente de Redistribución de Distritos a reanudar la elaboración de mapas de distritos congresionales en 2031. Establece una política en apoyo a las comisiones no partidistas de redistribución de distritos a nivel nacional. Impacto Fiscal: Costos que se realizan una vez en los condados, de hasta algunos millones de dólares a nivel estatal para actualizar los materiales electorales para reflejar los nuevos mapas de los distritos congresionales.

The State Voter Guide will contain all analysis and maps that are to be voted on.  Click here to see the state voter guide.

The local San Benito County Sample Ballot and Voter Guide can be viewed in:

• English
• Spanish

If you have been contacted regarding challenged Vote By mail of a missing or a signature that does not match our records we will attempt to contact you at least 3 times (based on available information on your voter file):

• Mail you a letter/form (see below) with a postage prepaid envelope to ease the return on the statement
• Phone Call, we will call and leave a voicemail asking for a phone call back
• Email, we will email you instructions on how to submit your form

If one of the methods above is not available for the voter we will attempt multiple contact with what is available, for example, we will mail three letters to the voter's mailing address or mail one letter and send two emails, etc.

Combined Signature Verification and Unsigned Identification Envelope Statement & Instructions - English and Spanish 

Si nos hemos puesto en contacto con usted por una bolete por correo de una firma faltante o que no coincide con nuestros registros, intentaremos contactarle al menos tres veces (según la información disponible en su expediente de votante):

• Le enviaremos una carta/formulario (ver más abajo) con un sobre con franqueo prepagado para facilitar la devolución de la declaración.
• Llamada telefónica: le llamaremos y le dejaremos un mensaje de voz solicitando que le devolvamos la llamada.
• Correo electrónico: le enviaremos por correo electrónico las instrucciones para enviar su formulario.

Si uno de los métodos anteriores no está disponible para el votante, intentaremos contactarlo varias veces con lo que esté disponible, por ejemplo, enviaremos tres cartas a la dirección postal del votante o enviaremos una carta y dos correos electrónicos, etc. 

Declaración combinada de verificación de firma e instrucciones - English and Spanish