Official Voter Information Guide

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Candidate Statements

Link to California Secretary of State Website

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Secretary of State

  • As the state's chief elections officer, oversees statewide elections and provides public access to campaign and lobbying financial information.
  • Supports California business by registering and authenticating certain types of businesses and trademarks, regulating notaries public, and enabling secured creditors to protect their financial interests.
  • Preserves California's history by acquiring, safeguarding, and sharing the state's historical treasures.
  • Registers domestic partnerships and advance health care directives, and protects the addresses of domestic violence victims and certain others entitled to confidential addresses.
 

ANN MENASCHE
Green

6266 Snowbond St.
San Diego, CA 92120

I will fix our broken election system that allows billionaires and corporations to buy elections, corrupt politicians, and silence the voices of ordinary Californians. My long experience as a civil rights lawyer and political activist qualifies me to fight for publicly funded elections, for a more representative democracy, and to crack down on corporate crime. I cannot be bought! Vote Ann! www.voteann.org

MARYLOU CABRAL
Peace and Freedom

137 N. Virgil Ave., #203
Los Angeles, CA 90004
www.votepsl.org

Strengthen democracy by lowering the voting age to 16, extending the right to vote to immigrants and prisoners, and making Election Day a holiday.

CHRISTINA TOBIN
Libertarian

P.O. Box 470296
San Francisco, CA 94147

Christina has dedicated her entire adult life to supporting individual voters' rights.

DEBRA BOWEN
Democratic

600 Playhouse Alley, #504
Pasadena, CA 91101

It has been an honor to serve as your Secretary of State for the past four years. As the chief elections officer for the largest state in the nation, my goals are to ensure voting systems are secure, accurate, reliable and accessible, and to make certain voters are confident that every ballot is counted exactly as it was cast. After taking office, I ordered a groundbreaking top-to-bottom review of California's voting systems. When this review by independent computer scientists revealed significant flaws, I shored up election security in an unprecedented way that has served as a model for other states. For my leadership in strengthening our democracy, I was privileged to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, a recognition given to public servants who choose to put their principles before partisanship. Beyond securing California's voting systems, since taking office, I have also streamlined operations and cut the agency's budget by more than 25%; strengthened election fraud prevention efforts; built partnerships with businesses and non-profit groups to get more eligible Californians registered to vote and voting on Election Day; made it easier to track campaign contributions to candidates and initiative campaigns; and put more information online so you can keep track of the decisions I make. I am proud to have the support of firefighters, teachers, highway patrol officers and peace officers throughout the state. They know that if I am re-elected, I will continue my independent leadership to ensure California's elections are conducted fairly.

DAMON DUNN
Republican

925 University Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95825

California's government is broken. Families and small businesses are paying the price. It's time to fix California. That is why Damon Dunn is running for Secretary of State. Damon was born to a 16 year-old single mother and he grew up in dire poverty. Yet, Damon did not make any excuses. He simply focused on the solutions to improve his life. Damon graduated from Stanford University, played in the NFL, and became a successful small business owner. Through his work with the Latino Educational Attainment Initiative, Make a Wish, St. Augustine Soup Kitchen and the Cops-N-Kids programs, Damon has been providing hope and assistance to communities across our state. As Secretary of State, Damon will take immediate action to: 1) improve California's business climate to create jobs and 2) protect the integrity of our elections. Businesses are leaving California and taking jobs to other states. The Secretary of State is responsible for all the business filings in California. Damon will use his business experience to evaluate why companies are leaving the state by conducting exit interviews. He will report the findings to the Legislature as part of a package of reforms that will lead to job growth in California. Honest elections are important to our democracy. Requiring photo identification to vote improves the integrity of our elections and makes it impossible to cheat. Damon will work to pass this simple reform so that Californians can trust the electoral process. www.DamonDunn.com

Merton D. Short
American Independent

P.O. Box 180
Durham, CA 95938

(530) 345-4224
mertfly@aol.com

While serving twice as Chairman of the American Independent Party (Constitution Party national affiliate) it was my pleasure to meet and learn from members of the Secretary of State's Office of their duties and responsibilities. This was particularly true of the relationship with the Elections Office. When I received my Wings of Gold as a Navy fighter pilot during World War Two I took an oath to uphold and defend the United States Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. As most of what ails our Nation today is the result of disobedience of our Constitution, there is a strong need to reinforce the tenets of that Constitution through information and education. As your Secretary of State I will strive to increase California voting participation with a Constitutionally informed electorate.

 

The order of the statements was determined by lot. Statements on this page were supplied by the candidates
and have not been checked for accuracy. Each statement was voluntarily submitted by the candidate and is printed
at the expense of the candidate. Candidates who did not submit statements could otherwise be qualified to appear on the ballot.

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