Dear friends and neighbors,
The primary election is in the rearview mirror, and many of you have voting on your mind. I have received emails asking about our election system and the work we are doing in the Legislature to make sure our elections are safe and secure and that every voter has the chance to make their voice heard. I want you to know I am absolutely committed to defending our reliable and proven mail-in ballot system, despite the efforts of the Trump Administration to undermine mail-in voting and disenfranchise Washingtonians.
This year, we passed SB 5892 to protect sensitive voter information like your full birthdate, social security number, or driver’s license number, from disclosure. We passed a law supporting access to ballots for Tribal communities, military overseas voters, and others who face structural barriers, helping ensure participation is not determined by geography or circumstance, along with legislation to protect eligible voters from mass challenges and improper removal from voter rolls.
We need top-to-bottom protections for our elections and we have passed legislation on so many of these issues, from protecting our elections staff and workers from threats and harassment to stopping hacking and cyber threats. And we need to protect Washington voters from politicians who might want to restructure systems for their own political benefit or to disenfranchise certain groups, with bills like our state-level Washington Voting Rights Act.
But I know passing legislation is not the only thing we need to do right now. Washington is successfully fighting back in court against the Trump Administration’s illegal power grab over our elections (thank you to Attorney General Nick Brown and all the staff there working hard to defend us!) that tried to restrict the use of mail-in ballots. Meanwhile, our case against the Trump Administration about their attempts to get confidential personal data on voters from our Secretary of State’s office is still in court, and we are watching that outcome closely.
I want every Washingtonian to be able to vote with confidence that their vote will be counted and our elections are safe and secure. The work to make sure we fulfill that promise continues every day, but I know it is the essential foundation of our democracy and I am committed to keeping it a reality for every voter.
Thank you for staying in touch and sharing this commitment to keeping our democracy thriving. Your engagement in state politics and government is more important than ever. As always, you can reach me at Jessica.Bateman@leg.wa.gov with your thoughts and feedback. The input you share with me helps develop ideas for bills and policies and helps me know the issues I should prioritize when I am working with my colleagues, so never hesitate to reach out. Thank you for reading!
In service,
– Jess
