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CALIFORNIA
INCUMBENT: DEBRA BOWEN (D)TERM LIMITED
California Secretary of State: At-a-Glance
2014 Alex Padilla (D) Pete Peterson (R)
Status Declared Candidate Declared Candidate
Total Raised
(Jan., 2014 -May, 2014)
$1,235,554 $69,235
Cash on Hand
(May 2014)
$568,122 $12,410
Primary Results 30.3% 29.6%
2010 Debra Bowen (D)* Damon Dunn (R)
Results 53.20% 38.20%
Total Raised $617,701 $968,708
*Incumbent
Note: Padillas cash on hand is a total of his Secretary of State committees COH ($340,235) and his committee for
State Senate ($227,886), both of which he can draw on for his current campaign.
Sources: Campaign Finance: Candidates and Elected Officials, 2010 Statewide Election, California Secretary of
State, accessed June 18, 2014, National Institute on Money in State Politics, accessed December 11, 2013, and
California Secretary of State Statewide Results, Accessed June 18, 2014.

California Media Markets CPP
Media Market
2012 Q4 Political
CPP Persons 25+
2010 Bowen Vote % 2010 SOS Vote Share
Los Angeles $1,710 53.40% 38.60%
San Francisco-Oakland $651 66.00% 21.80%
Sacramento-Stockton $311 48.70% 12.60%
San Diego $278 45.30% 8.90%
Palm Springs $82 42.70% 4.90%
Fresno-Visalia $120 40.20% 4.00%
Santa Barbara-Santa
Maria
$76 48.20% 2.30%
Monterey-Salinas $92 62.60% 2.10%
Bakersfield $64 35.60% 1.80%
Chico-Redding $31 36.90% 1.80%
Eureka $25 52.70% 0.60%
Yuma, AZ-El Centro, CA $43 56.10% 0.30%
Medford-Klamath Falls $62 38.30% 0.20%
Reno $69 37.20% 0.10%
Statewide Total $3,483 53.20% 100.00%
Sources: Television Planning Guide: TV Costs and Vote Analysis Election 2012, Media Strategies and
Research, February 2012; Atlas Online Toolkit, Election Results module, accessed 12/11/13.

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POWERS AND RELATED DUTIES
The Secretary of State's responsibilities include:
Serving as the state's Chief Elections Officer;
Implementing electronic filing and Internet disclosure of campaign and lobbyist
financial information;
Tracking and certifying ballot initiatives;
Maintaining business filings;
Commissioning notaries public;
Operating the Safe at Home confidential address program;
Maintaining the Domestic Partners and Advance Health Care Directive Registries;
Safeguarding the State Archives; and
Serving as a trustee of the California Museum.
1


DEBRA BOWEN (D) TERM LIMITED
Democrat Debra Bowen has served as Californias Secretary of
State since 2006, when she defeated incumbent Republican Bruce
McPherson 48.1% to 45%.
2
Before that, she served as a state
Senator representing parts of Los Angeles.
In 2008, Bowen was awarded the JFK Profiles in Courage Award
for her efforts to maintain election security in Californias voting
systems.
3
In 2009, Bowen launched an online fillable voter
registration application that could be printed out and mailed in.
After securing $1.8 million in federal funding and coordinating with
the California Department of Motor Vehicles and the states 58
county elections officials, Bowens office was able to establish a full
online voter registration system in 2012.
4
Recently, Bowen worked
with Covered California, the states health insurance exchange, to
begin mailing voter registration cards to nearly 4 million healthcare
enrollees. The exchange will also add voter registration material to
its online interface.
5






1
About the Agency, California Secretary of State, accessed January 9, 2014.
2
Atlas Toolkit, accessed January 9, 20143.
3
Debra Bowen, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, May 12, 2008.
4
Secretary of State Bowen Delivers Online Voter Registration, California Secretary of State, Sept. 19, 2012.
5
Egelko, Bob, Covered California mailing voter-registration cards, San Francisco Gate, March 25, 2014.
California Secretary of
State Debra Bowen (D)

3
2014
Californias June 3
primary narrowed the
field of eight Secretary of
State candidates down
to two: Democratic State
Senator Alex Padilla of
Los Angeles and Pete
Peterson, the Executive
Director of the
Davenport Institute at
Pepperdine Universitys
School of Public Policy.
6

Padilla took the top spot
in Calfornias open, top-
two primary with 30.3%.
Peterson took 29.7%.
The SoS race gained
some extra attention
7

when one of the
presumed frontrunners,
State Senator Leland Yee of San Francisco, dropped out after being arrested by the FBI in a
vast sting operation for a number of crimes including corruption, conspiracy to deal firearms
without a license and illegally importing firearms.
8
However, Yee placed third in the primary
rankings with 9.5%, followed by Republican-turned-Independent Dan Schnur
9
with 9.2%,
Democrat Derek Cressman with 7.6%, Republican Roy Allmond with 6.3%, Democrat Jeffrey
Drobman with 4.4%, and David Curtis of the Green Party with 3%.
10


Senator Padilla was ineligible to run for re-election to his Senate seat due to term limits,
11
but
he has received endorsements for his Secretary of State run from state and local Democratic
leaders, as well as SEIU California, AFSCME District Council 36, the California Nurses
Association, the California Professional Firefighters, California State Council of Laborers,
UFCW Western States Council, the Police Officers Association of both San Jose and Santa
Ana, Teamsters Joint Council No. 42, the United Farm Workers, and the United Firefighters
of Los Angeles.
12
His campaign committee for Secretary of State reports having $340, 235
cash on hand, but he can also draw on his still active 2010 State Senate campaign
committee, which reports having $227,887 cash on hand.
13
Padilla also fell just 1.3
percentage points short of the 60% needed to secure the California Democratic Partys
endorsement during their convention in early March.
14
Padillas stated goals if he wins the
office would be to improve the states campaign contribution tracking system and build an
online database of voters, and he has authored multiple election-reform bills that are moving
through the legislature, such as a ban on fundraising during the final 100 days of a legislative

6
Pritchard, Justin, Associated Press, Candidates for statewide office races nearly set, The Fresno Bee, June 3, 2014.
7
Orr, Katie, Secretary of State Race Draws Crowded Field, Capital Public Radio, May 19, 2014.
8
Kane, Will and Vivian Ho, Leland Yee quits secretary of state race, San Francisco Gate, March 27, 2014.
9
Marinucci, Carla, Ex-GOP star Schnur, running for state office, is over parties, San Francisco Gate, March 19, 2014
10
Secretary of State Statewide Resuts, Secretary of State Debra Bowen, June 18, 2014.
11
Koseff, Alexei, AM Alert: Schnur launches Secretary of State campaign a day late, Sacramento Bee, Jan. 10, 2013.
12
Endorsements Alex Padilla Campaign Website, accessed March 27, 2014.
13
Padilla, Alex, Cal-Access, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Accessed June 21, 2014.
14
Mehta, Seema, Democratic candidates fail to secure endorsements at convention, Los Angeles Times, March 9, 2014.
Secretary of State Candidate
Alex Padilla(D)
Secretary of State Candidate
Pete Peterson (R)

4
session.
15
He also voted in favor of Californias same-day voter registration law,
16
which has
not yet gone into effect.
17

Padilla will be facing off against Peterson during the November election. During a pre-
primary debate in April, NPR reported that Peterson and Padilla tend to agree on most
issues. However, Peterson has expressed doubt over the efficacy of some proposed
campaign finance reforms.
18,19
In its endorsement of Peterson, the Los Angeles Times noted
that, unlike most in his party, Peterson does not support voter ID laws or other supposed
anti-fraud initiatives that would suppress legitimate voters.
20
His campaign committee
reports having $12,410 cash on hand.
21

This year, the Secretary of States will oversee the signature verification process
22
for a
number of ballot measures including one that gives the government regulatory authority over
health insurance premiums, among several others.
23




15
Associated Press, Secretary of state campaign takes on a higher profile, San Jose Mercury News, May 20, 2014.
16
AB 1436 Authorizes Same-Day Voter Registration Voting Record, Project Vote Smart, Accessed June 18, 2014.
17
Gov. Jerry Brown signs Election day voter registration bill into law, San Jose Mercury News, Sept. 25, 2012.
18
Orr, Katie, Secretary of State Race Draws Crowded Field, Capital Public Radio, May 19, 2014.
19
Associated Press, Secretary of state campaign takes on a higher profile, San Jose Mercury News, May 20, 2014.
20
Las Angeles Times Editorial Board, Endorsement: Pete Peterson for Secretary of State, Los Angeles Times, May 4,
2014.
21
Peterson, Pete N. Cal-Access, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Accessed June 21, 2014.
22
Statewide Initiative Guide, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Accessed May 12, 2014.
23
Qualified Statewide Ballot Measures, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Accessed May 12, 2014.