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What are the ballot measures or contests included in the December 2, 2025 special election?
Executive summary
The December 2, 2025 date appears in reporting as a certification or runoff/results deadline for contests held earlier in the fall, not as a widely advertised separate statewide special election date with its own new ballot measures (most statewide special elections were Nov. 4, 2025) [1] [2]. Available sources show a November 4, 2025 California special election (including Proposition 50) and note that some local jurisdictions certify final results or hold runoffs on December 2, 2025 — but the sources do not present a single, nationwide list of ballot measures scheduled specifically for December 2, 2025 [1] [3] [4] [5].
1. What the sources actually document: November 4 special election and December 2 certification/runoffs
California’s statewide special election is repeatedly discussed as taking place on November 4, 2025, with a prominent statewide constitutional measure (Proposition 50) on that ballot; election administrators set canvass and certification timelines that extend into December, with some local offices noting final results certified on December 2, 2025 [1] [3] [4] [5]. National overviews of 2025 elections list 30 statewide ballot measures across nine states in 2025 and note that most measures were decided on November 4 (24 of 30), indicating that November — not December 2 — was the principal voting date for most statewide questions [6] [2].
2. Why December 2 shows up in reporting: certification dates and runoffs, not a new ballot package
Several county and city election pages and guides tie December 2, 2025 to administrative deadlines: San Francisco’s Department of Elections, for example, states that final local election results will be certified and released on December 2 following the November 4 special election [4] [5]. Wikipedia’s 2025 elections page likewise lists various runoffs and special contests taking place in early December (for example, runoffs in local mayoral or municipal contests), which explains mentions of December 2 in election calendars — but it does not present December 2 as a nationwide special-election ballot-measure day [2].
3. What was on the high-profile November 4 special election ballot (relevant context)
California’s November 4 special election featured Proposition 50, described in multiple outlets as a constitutional amendment (the “Election Rigging Response Act”) that would replace the commission-drawn congressional map with a legislature-drawn map intended to change the partisan composition of several districts; major outlets and university guides treat Prop 50 as the lead statewide question on the November special-election ballot [3] [7]. Ballotpedia and national aggregators count dozens of state ballot measures across 2025 but make clear that most statewide measures were resolved at November’s election [6] [2].
4. What the sources do not say — limits of available reporting
Available sources do not present a consolidated list of ballot measures or contests specifically scheduled for December 2, 2025 as a separate special-election date (not found in current reporting). They do not show a distinct, statewide special-election ballot on December 2 comparable to the November 4 California special election; rather, December 2 appears as a calendar day for certification of results or for local runoffs/certifications in some jurisdictions [1] [4] [5] [2].
5. How to find the exact contests in your county or city for that date
If you need to know whether a local runoff or last-certification affects your ballot on December 2, consult your county or city elections office: municipal pages like San Francisco’s explicitly list certification dates and local schedules [4] [5]. For statewide summaries and lists of ballot measures across the year, Ballotpedia and national election trackers list measures by state and date and note that 30 statewide measures occurred in 2025 with most decided in November [6] [2].
6. Competing interpretations and possible agendas to watch
Media coverage framing Prop 50 as an effort to alter partisan map outcomes reflects high political stakes; UCLA’s guide frames it as creating five majority-Democrat districts, while national outlets (e.g., NBC) characterized it as overriding the independent redistricting commission to favor one party — both framings emphasize partisan impact and thus carry political implications [3] [7]. Readers should note the differing emphases: academic guides present policy mechanics, while news outlets emphasize electoral consequences; both perspectives are present in the sources [3] [7].
If you want, I can pull the specific December 2 runoffs or certifications for a particular city or county (for example, San Francisco is documented to certify results that day) — tell me which locality you care about and I’ll search the election-office pages in the provided sources.