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Three groups sued California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and San Francisco’s elections director Wednesday, asking the court to ensure that more than 85,000 people sent to county jails instead of state prisons under the recent “realignment” can vote.All of Us or None, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, and the League of Women Voters of California contend that low-level, non-violent offenders should be able to cast ballots this year and beyond. The state’s First District Court of Appeal ruled in 2006 that people serving county jail terms as a condition of felony probation are entitled to vote under California...

Voters along Los Angeles County's southern coast conducted a test run of the state's new top-two primary election system this month, and the outcome is a harbinger of next year's elections in 153 newly redrawn congressional and legislative districts. The special election in the 36th Congressional District was triggered by the resignation of Democratic Rep. Jane Harman. It was virtually certain from the onset that her successor would be a Democrat – but uncertain which Democrat. The top-two system requires all candidates to be listed on the same ballot, regardless of party, with the top two vote-getters moving into the...

Secretary of State Debra Bowen conceded the second spot in a Los Angeles-area congressional race Thursday, leaving the runoff between Democrat Janice Hahn and Republican Craig Huey. Bowen, a Democrat who represented the Southland's coastal cities in the Legislature for more than a decade, had been considered a front-runner in the contest to fill the seat vacated by the retirement of Democratic Rep. Jane Harman.

Republican Craig Huey, an advertising executive, could make a surprise advance in California's Democratic-leaning 36th District special election, according to initial results in Tuesday's race to replace Democrat Jane Harman. Due to the Los Angeles County district's Democratic lean, two Democrats were expected to top last night's "jungle primary," which featured 16 candidates of all parties running on a single ballot. But Huey narrowly edged out California Secretary of State Debra Bowen (D) by 206 votes for the second-place spot, according to preliminary results. Staff for Bowen on Tuesday night noted that 9,811 votes remained to be counted. "We are...

Secretary of State Debra Bowen is considering running for the congressional seat expected to be vacated by Democratic Rep. Jane Harman. "She is very, very seriously considering running for Congress," Bowen campaign consultant Steve Barkan said. "It's brand new news, and so she needs to take all factors into consideration." News broke today that Harman, 65, will leave office to take a job as president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, setting the stage for a special election in the 36th Congressional District. Bowen hails from Marina Del Rey, which is part of the district, and represented the...

When a child named Curtis Bowen was slapped by his teacher at Martin Luther King Jr., Elementary School, no one really heard about it. Except for President Obama, Vice President Biden, their wives, three senators, and more than 20 other officials. They all were CC'ed on the whopping 40-page letter that Curtis' mother, Lisa Henry Bowen, sent to school district superintendent John Covington. In it, Bowen makes mind-boggling demands for reparations. One recipient called the letter "one of the craziest things I've ever seen" and leaked it to the Internet. And Lisa Henry Bowen even created her own web site...

In what ultimately could prove to be a turning point in the legal challenges to Barack Obama's eligibility to be president, a federal judge in California has planned a hearing on the merits of a federal court case raising those questions. According to attorney Orly Taitz, who is working on multiple cases alleging Obama is a "usurper" because he doesn't meet the constitutional requirement that only a "natural born citizen" can be president, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ruled in a hearing today that her case will move forward. (READ MORE AT LINK)

Just found this out today through an email. Don't know why Gary Kreep didn't let us know. Court tomorrow at 9 a.m. Will go and report back. Obama's attorneys Strumwasser, Woocher, LLP and a D.C. Pro Hac attorney Robert F. Bauer prepared a 167 page document to try to get the case thrown out. When are the Obama supporters going to wake up to the fact Obama is hiding his birth, college and passport records because they will reveal he is NOT a natural born citizen and possibly not legally a citizen? Strumwasser, Woocher charges $600/Hour. If you have problems...

TO: THE HONORABLE JOHN J. ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE Motion to Reconsider Petitioners, by and through their undersigned counsel of record, submit this motion for reconsideration due to the following reasons: The Clerk of this Court, Danny Bickel, of his own volition and on his own authority refused to file of record, docket, and forward to the Chief Justice and Associate Justices Petitioners’ Supplemental Brief presented on January 15, 2009. The Rules of this Court provide that supplemental briefs are allowed, when there is a new law or changed circumstance in the case. On January 8, 2009, Barack Obama was confirmed...

08A524 LIGHTFOOT, GAIL, ET AL. V. BOWEN, CA SEC. OF STATE The application for stay addressed to The Chief Justice and referred to the Court is denied.

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen and her counterpart in Ohio have been named recipients of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Both will be honored for challenging the reliability of electronic voting systems in their states. Bowen severely restricted the use of electronic voting systems six months before the Feb. 5 presidential primary, after computer scientists at the University of California concluded they could be hacked. Many county registrars were furious with her decision, which they said left them little time to get ready for the early primary. Twenty-one counties, including Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and...

Late Friday, in an atmosphere of total chaos -- with a midnight deadline looming, county election officials waiting anxiously by their phones, and videographers and reporters clamoring outside — Secretary of State Debra Bowen moved to decertify electronic voting machines used by 9 million voters. The decision to decertify leaves county voting officials scrambling once again. They must either find replacement voting equipment that will satisfy the state elections chief before the Feb. 5 presidential primary or upgrade security in systems they do have. The new systems and/or new security measures required must be acquired, tested, installed and workers trained...

Amare Stoudemire called the Spurs a "dirty team" and was specifically angry with Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen, who he says have intentionally tried to hurt him.

Welcome to the live thread for the California Primary Election. Polls are open until 8pm tonight. If you are a registered voter, it is your duty to vote and defend your rights and civil liberties, protect your pocketbook, and vote the bums out where applicable. Feel free to discuss issues key to your local area that others may be interested in. Post your polling place experiences if you like. And post numbers as they come in later tonight.

THE TWO major-party candidates for California secretary of state could not be more different in style or in philosophy about the role of the office. Incumbent Bruce McPherson, a Republican, is an engaging, low-key centrist with great faith in modern electronic voting systems and great concern about the potential for shenanigans at polling places. Sen. Debra Bowen, a Democrat who brings a lawyerly edge and high-tech guile in her approach to public policy, is highly skeptical about the current safeguards on electronic voting systems. One trait these two veteran politicians share is a high level of competence. It's unfortunate they...

For years, Sacramento wags have joked about “state Sen. Rudy Bermudez, D-California Correctional Peace Officers Association,” because the only thing the Norwalk lawmaker seems to care about is propping up the pay and benefits of prison guards. Given what happened this week in the Legislature, it is now just as proper to think of Sens. Don Perata, Debra Bowen and Gil Cedillo as being “D-California Teachers Association” – because their primary allegiance obviously isn't to Californians in general. This week Perata, Bowen and Cedillo killed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's nomination of David Crane, a highly regarded San Francisco financier, to the...

Welcome to the live thread for the California Primary Election. Polls are open until 8pm tonight. If you are a registered voter, it is your duty to vote and defend your rights and civil liberties, protect your pocketbook, and vote the bums out where applicable. Feel free to discuss issues key to your local area that others may be interested in. Post your polling place experiences if you like. And post numbers as they come in later tonight.

Field Poll link Lt. Governor (Democratic): In the contested Democratic primary for Lt. Governor, State Senator Jackie Speier has pulled ahead of State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi and State Senator Liz Figueroa. The current poll finds Speier the choice of 30% of likely Democratic primary voters, with Garamendi at 25% and Figueroa far behind at 8%. More than one in three voters (37%) are undecided. The current findings are a reversal of voter preferences from April when Garamendi held the lead over Speier. • Attorney General (Democratic): Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown continues to hold a comfortable lead over Los Angeles...

College campuses can be political hotbeds. And that has some members of Congress thinking they should get involved. Some Republicans are pushing a measure through the House of Representatives meant to ensure that students hear "dissenting viewpoints" in class and are protected from retaliation because of their politics or religion. Colleges say the measure isn't needed, but with Congress providing billions of dollars to higher education, they are worried. The measure's chief promoter, Marxist-turned-conservative activist David Horowitz, says an academic bill of rights will protect students from possible political "hectoring" and discrimination by their professors.... The federal government provides loans...

Making its break from reality official, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) named as its new chief a college administrator who is famous for sponsoring conferences on sex at a state university. Last year, the AAUP objected when the University of South Florida dismissed a professor that the U.S. government arrested for working with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Additionally, the AAUP has consistently opposed the Academic Bill of Rights constructed by Students for Academic Freedom. “The danger of such guidelines is that they invite diversity to be measured by political standards that diverge from the academic criteria of the...