Debra Bowen
Democratic
| Date | Party | Office | Votes | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11-03-1992 | Democratic | AD-53 | 95703 | Win |
| 11-08-1994 | Democratic | AD-53 | 66114 | Win |
| 11-05-1996 | Democratic | AD-53 | 88238 | Win |
| 11-03-1998 | Democratic | SD-28 | 115672 | Win |
| 11-05-2002 | Democratic | SD-28 | 114145 | Win |
| 11-07-2006 | Democratic | Secretary of State | 4032553 | Win |
| 11-02-2010 | Democratic | Secretary of State | 5105600 | Win |
Candidate Biography:
Born: October 27, 1955 in Rockford, Illinois
Married: Mark Nechodom (m. 2003; div. 2017)
Child: One
1989: Fellow, CORO Fellows Program
2011: Special Primary Candidate for CD-36 (Lost; 21.1%)
2012: Delegate, Democratic National Convention
- LEGISLATION: Author of AB 1624 (1993) which requires the California Legislature to post legislative information such as bills, committee analyses and vote tallies on the Internet. [Chapter 1235/Stats of 1993]
- LEGISLATION: Author of AB 1787 (1993) banning the sale of mercury and alkaline batteries in California.
- AWARD: Winner of the Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation (2008)
- Bowen made headlines in August 2007 when she decertified the electronic voting systems used by 39 of California's 58 counties.
- LITIGATION: Bowen was the defendant in the case Keyes v. Bowen, which sought to compel presidential candidate Barack Obama to provide documentation that he is a natural-born citizen of the United States.
- Mark Nechodom served as Director of the California Department of Conservation from 2011-2015 and was previously Deputy Director of Montana’s state Department of Agriculture.
- Supreme Court Decision: In June 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a nonstatutory requirement imposed by the Secretary of State's office (while Bowen was Secretary) was unconstitutional. In 2010, the Secretary of State's office began requiring California non-profits to include the Form 990 Schedule B (an IRS form disclosing donors who contribute more than $5,000 or 2% of the total donations to the non-profit in a year) with their registration, or be decertified in the state. The practice was found to violate the first Amendment. (Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, 19-251, 19-255)
Source: California Assembly Handbook (1996)
Source: California Blue Book (2000)