Phil Matier: Termed-Out Leland Yee Seeking To Be State Elections Chief
SACRAMENTO (KCBS) - Democratic State Sen. Leland Yee announced his intention to run for California Secretary of State - when he is termed out of the state Legislature in two years.
Yee made the announcement to his Facebook and Twitter followers Monday morning.
In a statement issued Monday, Yee pointed to the increasing use of technology in elections. "In this election cycle, we significantly increased access to our democracy through online voter registration. As Secretary of State, I want to expand on this success and explore the possibility of one day not just registering online, but in fact voting online," said Yee.
If we can safely pay our bills via the internet and board an airplane with a smart phone, we should be able to securely and easily vote electronically as well," he said.
KCBS, CBS 5 and SF Chronicle Insider Phil Matier:
The former San Francisco supervisor ran unsuccessfully to become Mayor of San Francisco last year.
His Senate district was eliminated in the new legislative districts drawn by the state's Redistricting Commission, and will disappear when his term expires in 2014. Sitting Secretary of State Debra Bowen will also be termed out in 2014.
Yee has made voter access and open government among his main priorities as a state lawmaker. He authored a law that last year created an online voter registration system in California.
There are no other candidates yet declared for the race to replace Bowen in 2014.
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