Last year as I watched Debra Bowen being sworn in as Secretary of State I couldn’t help but feel this was a momentous achievement in history. As Secretary of State, Debra Bowen would be heading the governmental body in California responsible for overseeing voter rights and the accountability of the State’s electoral process. How delightfully appropriate because women represent the largest group of disenfranchised voters in history and now a woman was going to be the chief elections officer for the state with the highest number of registered voters in the nation. Score one for the women’s movement and suffragettes everywhere.

Irony aside, Debra Bowen has proved to be the right woman for the job. Debra realizes that the electoral process is fundamental to democracy not only as a constitutional right, but as a personal privilege. Since taking office last January, Debra Bowen has worked to restore confidence and reliability in the voting process here in California. So it should come as no surprise that Debra has been selected to receive the prestigious John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award along with Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. Debra will be presented the award on Monday, May 12th in Boston. The award is designed to make Americans aware of the “conscientious and courageous acts of the public servants and to encourage elected officials to choose principles over partisanship.” Debra is certainly a living tribute to the significance of this award.


Upon taking office in 2006, Debra ordered an independent review of all voting systems in California and immediately limited the use of many electronic voting machines that didn’t pass the review. During the presidential primary in February of 2008 the paper balloting for Independent voters came under fire. Debra worked to ensure that each vote that was cast was counted and tallied into the final results. Debra has also added new security and auditing features to the elections process to improve transparency and accountability of the system.

As founder of the CALIFORNIA LIST, I am proud to have endorsed Debra Bowen in her candidacy and wish her warm congratulations on this prestigious honor.

Bettina Duval is the founder of the California List, a political fundraising network that helps elect Democratic women to all branches of California state government.