| Debra Bowen | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 8, 2007 |
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| Governor | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| Preceded by | Bruce McPherson |
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| Born | October 27, 1955 Rockford, Illinois |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mark Nechodom |
| Alma mater | Michigan State University University of Virginia School of Law |
| Profession | Lawyer, Politician |
Debra Bowen (born October 27, 1955) is a California politician from the Democratic Party. She has been California Secretary of State since January 8, 2007. Prior to becoming Secretary of State, she was a member of the California State Legislature from 1992 to 2006. In March 2008, she was given the Profile in Courage Award by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
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Background and education
Bowen was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois, where she graduated from Guilford High School in 1973. She received her bachelor's degree in 1976 from Michigan State University, and her Juris Doctor in 1979 from the University of Virginia School of Law. In 1984, she started her own California law firm.
Career in politics
Bowen was elected to the California State Assembly, representing the 53rd Assembly District in the South Bay area from 1992 to 1998. Bowen was first elected to the California State Senate, representing the 28th State Senate District, in 1998. Her district included all or portions of the cities of Carson, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, Venice, and Wilmington. Bowen chaired the California Senate's Committee on Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments. She also sat on the Energy, Utilities & Communications and Rules committees. Due to term limits, her service in the Senate ended in December 2006.
On June 6, 2006, Bowen faced Deborah Ortiz, another state senator, in the Democratic primary to run against Bruce McPherson for the position of California Secretary of State. Bowen won the primary by a 61-39 margin.[1] On November 2, Bowen defeated Republican candidate for reelection McPherson by a margin of 3%.[2]
Policy interests
Bowen is known for her pioneering support toward using the Internet to open government to computer users worldwide. In 1993, her first year in elected office, she successfully helped to pass legislative bill AB 1624 [1], a landmark legislation making all of California's bill information available on the Internet. In the years since, she has fostered privacy protection in the electronic age and has promoted stronger auditing demands upon electronic voting equipment to ensure the accuracy of the vote. Her emphasis on fair elections has made her popular with the progressive wing of the Democratic party.
In May 2007, Bowen commissioned a "Top to Bottom Review" of California's electronic voting systems, to determine their security. On August 3, 2007, Bowen withdrew approval and certification and conditionally re-approved three electronic voting systems (Diebold Election Systems, Hart InterCivic, Sequoia Voting Systems, and rescinded approval of a fourth system, Election Systems & Software), after the top-to-bottom review of the voting machines found the machines to be highly insecure.[3][4] For these efforts she was awarded the Profile in Courage Award by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Bowen was interviewed for the January 16, 2008 broadcast of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer as to her efforts to ensure California ballot integrity.
Bowen was the keynote speaker for the 2008 Usenix Security Symposium and spoke on the subject of protecting elections.[5]
References
- ^ http://vote.ss.ca.gov/Returns/sec/00.htm
- ^ http://sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2006_general/sos.pdf
- ^ "Top-To-Bottom Review". California Secretary of State. 2007-08-03. http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vsr.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
- ^ "Numerous media outlets publish misleading attacks on decision to limit electronic voting". Media Matters for America. 2007-08-09. http://mediamatters.org/items/200708090007?f=h_latest. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
- ^ https://db.usenix.org/media/events/sec08/tech/mp3/bowen.mp3
External links
- Official State of California biography
- Official campaign website
- Debra Bowen fact sheet on the University of California President's website
- AB 1624 Info on CA Legislation site
- Why California Secretary of State Debra Bowen Pulled the Plug on E-Voting Government Technology Magazine July, 2008
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Richard Floyd |
California State Assemblymember, 53rd District December 7, 1992–November 30, 1998 |
Succeeded by George Nakano |
| Preceded by Ralph C. Dills |
California State Senator, 28th District December 7, 1998–November 30, 2006 |
Succeeded by Jenny Oropeza |
| Preceded by Bruce McPherson |
California Secretary of State January 8, 2007–present |
Incumbent |
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