Dear Friend,

I am excited to share with my friends and supporters that I declared my candidacy for Secretary of State in 2014.

I will be a Secretary of State committed to fair elections and expanding access to our democracy.

In the State Legislature, we have passed laws to increase government transparency, support small businesses, reform campaign financing, embrace our diversity, and protect the most vulnerable.

And this past election, as a result of a recent law I authored, we significantly changed our political process forever.

In September, we launched online voter registration. Consequently, California set a new record with 18,245,970 registered voters. Over 1 million people used the new registration system in less than a month, with over 780,000 citizens added to the voter file. Nearly 62 percent of those who registered online were under age 35 and four out of five registered to vote for the very first time.

Despite efforts by some to suppress the vote around the country, we dramatically increased our voter rolls, especially among young people and first time voters.

As Secretary of State, I want to expand on this success and continue to use technology to advance our democracy and increase voter participation.

I am looking forward to talking about these and other issues with voters throughout the state of California. I am excited and I want you to be part of this campaign to modernize the office of Secretary of State and to enhance our democratic process.

Please join me in this effort.

Thank you,