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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 1992–2006.

Bowen was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois. 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.

Bowen was elected to the California State Assembly, representing the 53rd Assembly District from 1992-1998.

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.

Bowen is known for her pioneering work using the Internet to open government to computer users worldwide. In 1993, her first year in elected office, she successfully passed AB 1624 [1], landmark legislation putting all of California's bill information on the internet. In the years since, she has worked to protect privacy in the electronic age and to strengthen the auditing of 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.

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 [2].

• 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

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