  SDSS-V is carrying out a dedicated survey for white dwarfs, single and in
binaries, and we report the analysis of the spectroscopy of cataclysmic
variables (CVs) and CV candidates obtained during the final plug plate
observations of SDSS. We identify eight new CVs, spectroscopically confirm 53
and refute eleven published CV candidates, and we report 21 new or improved
orbital periods. Combined with previously published data, the orbital period
distribution of the SDSS-V CVs does not clearly exhibit a period gap. This is
consistent with previous findings that spectroscopically identified CVs have a
larger proportion of short-period systems compared to samples identified from
photometric variability. Remarkably, despite a systematic search, we find very
few period bouncers. We estimate the space density of period bouncers to be
$\simeq0.2\times10^{-6}\,\mathrm{pc}^{-3}$, i.e. they represent only a few per
cent of the total CV population. This suggests that during their final phase of
evolution, CVs either destroy the donor, e.g. via a merger, or that they become
detached and cease mass transfer.
