Support State Senator Deborah Bowen
in her race for Secretary of State

Sen. Bowen won the endorsement of the California Democratic Party at its convention with 81% of the vote! Senator Bowen must still win the primary on June 6, and then the general election on Nov 7. Read the transcript of the debate between Senator Bowen and Senator Ortiz at the California Democratic Convention.

Sen. Bowen is the only elected official who has publicly:

• Challenged Secretary of State Bruce McPherson on his certification of Diebold voting systems for use in California elections, asking why he did this when the system does not satisfy state law, and on his constantly altering the minimum standards for Diebold's certification. (details)
• Challenged Secretary of State MacPherson's his new voter registration system which has rejected 43% of all voters registrations (new, change of address, change of name, etc.) since January 1, 2006. (details - March 30, update - April 19)
• Stated the testing process for voting systems is severely broken.
• Stated we must increase transparency in elections to restore voter confidence, even if it is not convenient for the Registrars: "You need to have total transparency, you need observers to be able to see every part of the process".
• Met with and listens to the grassroots activists about election reform. (The current Secretary of State, Bruce McPherson, has made it a point to meet all 58 county elections officials, but has never met with grassroot activists.)

Senator Bowen is currently chair of the California State Senate Elections, Reapportionment, and Constitutional Amendments Committee. As Chair, she has had the Committee hold hearings this past year on Diebold, the certification process, broken voter registration process, etc (details) .

Endorsements

Sen. Bowen's Top Priorities as our next Secretary of State

• Ensuring that every vote is counted as it was cast.
• Reforming the initiative process
• Continuing to make government more open and transparent.
• Making it easier for people to vote

Sen. Bowen's Biography and Legislative Record

During her time in office, Senator Bowen has focused her attention on:

• Restoring Confidence In California's Electoral Process (details)
• Opening Government To The People (details)
• Helping Californians Protect Their Privacy (details)
• Protecting California Consumers (details)
• Protecting California's Environment & Energy Resources (details)
• Protecting California's Women & Children (details)

Senator Bowen is the chairwoman of the Senate Elections, Reapportionment & Constitutional Amendments Committee and serves on the Energy, Utilities & Communications and Rules committees.

Listen to Sen. Bowen outline the problems and solutions:

• On the Paul Berenson show, Santa Barbara, March 3, 2006, discussing Diebold voting systems, etc:
  http://www.paulb.com/voice/show/03-04-06-b.mp3
• On the Will and Willie show: San Francisco, April 11, 2006:
  http://www.quakeradio.com/pages/podbridge_waw.html
  Scroll down to Will & Willie 4/11/06 Senator Debra Bowen (D-Redondo Beach)
  This broadcast begins with about 3 and a half minutes of chit-chat, and then about 20 minutes about McPherson's broken voter registration system and a little on the Diebold certification.

For More Information

Senator Bowen's Senate web site, including press releases, articles, and legislation:
http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/templates/SDCTemplate.asp?cp=MemberPage&pg=senhome&sln=Bowen&sdn=28&zrn=Zone/
or go to http://senate.ca.gov/, click on "Senators" and then click on "Bowen, Debra".

Primary Opponent - Senator Deborah Ortiz

This year she has sponsored SB 1706, which would give Registrars more power to restrict observers of election canvasses. We need more transparency, not less.

This web page was constructed by Jerry Berkman, jerry@berkeley.edu, who is solely responsible for its contents. It includes material from the Senator Bowen's campaign and senate web sites, but has not been reviewed by the Senator or the campaign. Last updated: April 24, 2006.