Debra Lynn Bowen (born October 27, 1955) is an American attorney and politician who served as the Secretary of State of California from 2007 to 2015.

Motivated by the death of Robin Williams a few weeks earlier, in September 2014, her last year serving as Secretary of State, Bowen revealed that she has been battling depression since she had been in college.

Bowen chaired the California Senate's Committee on Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments.

[citation needed] After incumbent Jane Harman announced she was vacating the seat,[9] Bowen was widely discussed as a possible candidate for the 36th congressional district special election to replace her.

In May 2007, Bowen commissioned a "Top to Bottom Review" of California's electronic voting systems, to determine their security.

[20] Bowen was interviewed for the January 16, 2008 broadcast of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer[21] and was the keynote speaker for the 2008 Usenix Security Symposium.