Having first been elected in 1998, Cathy Cox is now serving her second term as Georgia’s Secretary of State. Cathy Cox is the first woman to serve as Georgia's Secretary of State. Cox has become a national leader in election reform.  Her initiative made Georgia the first state in America to deploy a modern, uniform electronic voting system in every county.  The new touch screen system has won acclaim throughout the state and across the nation, and has made Georgia elections more accurate and more accessible to the disabled and visually impaired. As Secretary of State Cathy Cox has worked to enhance customer service and protect Georgia consumers. Under her direction a new State Archives facility designed to better protect Georgia’s historical treasures and documents opened in April 2003 in Clayton County. Her Corporations Division has become a leader in governmental e-commerce, offering a broad array of services through the Internet and e-mail. The Secretary of State’s technological leadership has won national recognition. In 2003 the agency's website was named "Best Constitutional Officer Site" in the nation by the Center for Digital Government.  In 2001 the Council of State Governments named her agency’s website best in the nation. Secretary Cox made campaign disclosure reports available on the Internet, allowing citizens to see for themselves who is supporting candidates for public office.  She expanded the agency’s successful license suspension program, which requires parents to pay child support, to now include those who default on their student loans. Those initiatives have saved Georgia taxpayers millions of dollars since their inception.

Secretary Cox has an extensive background in law, journalism and public service.  Before her election, she served three years as Assistant Secretary of State.  From 1993 to 1996 Ms. Cox represented Miller, Seminole, Early and Decatur counties in the Georgia House of Representatives. She was born in Bainbridge in southwest Georgia where she attended public schools. Her father, Walter Cox, served as Mayor of Bainbridge and served for 16 years in the Georgia General Assembly. Ms. Cox attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and continued her studies at the University of Georgia, where she earned a journalism degree.  Her career began as a newspaper reporter with The Gainesville Times and The Post-Searchlight in Bainbridge.  Later, she entered Mercer University Law School, where she was editor of the Law Review.  For 10 years, Ms. Cox practiced law in Atlanta and Bainbridge. Ms. Cox, 47, is a member of the United Methodist Church. She, her husband Mark Dehler, an attorney, and their chocolate labrador Jake reside in northeast Atlanta.