How many registered voters were eligible for the 2025 California special election according to the California Secretary of State?

1. What people claimed and what the records actually say — separating the assertions from the paperwork

Multiple materials provided two discrete claims: one asserts a concrete headcount of registered voters eligible for the 2025 special election, and the other notes that all active registered voters were mailed vote‑by‑mail ballots. The only concrete headcount in the provided set of documents is the Secretary of State’s February 10, 2025 Report of Registration stating 22,900,896 registered voters, which is explicitly described as the number of eligible Californians registered to vote at that reporting date ^[1]. Other Secretary of State pages referenced the required pre‑election registration reports (15‑day and 60‑day reports) and stated that active registered voters would receive ballots, but those pages did not themselves publish a competing numeric total within the materials supplied ^{[4] [3]}.

2. The official tally: where the 22,900,896 figure comes from and how it’s framed

The authoritative numeric claim comes from the Secretary of State’s Report of Registration released on February 10, 2025, which the Democratic Party briefing and the Secretary of State’s own summary both cite as showing 22,900,896 registered voters — about 85% of eligible Californians at that date ^[1]. The Secretary of State’s reporting cycle produces multiple snapshots (60‑day, 15‑day, and final pre‑election tallies) and the February report is an official data product; contemporaneous Secretary of State pages mention those pre‑election reports exist but did not include the final pre‑November numbers in the extracts provided here ^[3]. The February figure is therefore a documented official baseline and was being used publicly to describe the registration universe in 2025 ^[1].

3. Ballots sent and turnout — why mailed ballots don’t change the registered total

Independent reporting and Secretary of State communications indicate nearly 23 million ballots were mailed to active registered voters for the special election, with roughly 6.6–6.7 million ballots returned by November 4, 2025, illustrating turnout rather than the size of the registered pool ^[2]. The mailed‑ballot figure is consistent with the Secretary of State’s statement that active registered voters would receive vote‑by‑mail ballots, but the count of ballots mailed is a distribution metric and does not itself define how many people were registered at the official reporting cutoff — that remains the domain of the Reports of Registration ^{[4] [2]}. Comparisons between mailed ballots and registered totals are useful for turnout analysis but can confuse eligibility counts when sources conflate distribution and registration numbers ^[2].

4. Timing, potential discrepancies, and what to watch for in the data trail

Registration totals can shift between reporting snapshots because of new registrations, removals, and processing windows; the Secretary of State publishes multiple pre‑election reports (60‑day and 15‑day) that give the legally relevant counts closer to election day, and those specific reports were referenced but not reproduced in the extracts supplied ^[3]. The February 10, 2025 figure is authoritative for that snapshot, but the final official pre‑election registration number could be slightly different if the later 60‑day or 15‑day reports adjusted the total; the materials here note the existence of those reports without providing their numeric contents ^[3]. Analysts should always note the report date when citing registration counts because small timing shifts change the denominator used in turnout and participation calculations ^{[1] [3]}.

5. Bottom line and where to confirm the canonical number

The best documented answer in the supplied materials is that 22,900,896 Californians were registered as of the February 10, 2025 Report of Registration, and this figure has been used publicly to describe the eligible pool for the 2025 special election; nearly 23 million ballots were mailed to active registered voters and about 6.6–6.7 million ballots had been returned by November 4, 2025, which speaks to turnout rather than registration totals ^{[1] [2]}. To confirm the final pre‑election registration total that corresponded exactly to the November 4, 2025 special election, consult the Secretary of State’s published 15‑day and 60‑day Reports of Registration on the Elections and Voter Information pages, which are the canonical documents used to certify the eligible registered‑voter universe ^[3].