{"id":3023,"date":"2025-09-02T08:58:46","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T15:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/bateman\/?p=3023"},"modified":"2025-09-02T08:58:46","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T15:58:46","slug":"what-im-hearing-in-my-email-inbox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/bateman\/2025\/09\/02\/what-im-hearing-in-my-email-inbox\/","title":{"rendered":"What I\u2019m hearing in my email inbox"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear friends and neighbors,<\/p>\n

People sometimes ask what a state senator does outside of the legislative session! We are a part-time Legislature and like many senators, I have another job to work the rest of the year \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t mean I stop being a senator. The interim between sessions is an important time to learn about emerging issues in our communities, see how our bills are being implemented on the ground, and get ideas from you for new bills for the next session. Over the past few weeks, I\u2019ve been continuing my work on housing affordability. I travelled to Clark County to learn more about how we can support kit homes for a lower-cost construction option, visited an affordable \u2018middle housing\u2019 development in Pierce County that we can build more of thanks to legislation like our landmark HB 1110<\/a> reform, and received an award from my friends at the National Alliance on Mental Illness recognizing our work to improve behavioral health care, along with so much more.<\/p>\n

\"Senators<\/p>\n

\"Sen.<\/p>\n

One of the important things we do is track our email inbox and the subjects we\u2019re hearing about the most from you, our constituents. I wanted to share my stance on two important issues that I\u2019ve heard a lot about in the past few weeks.<\/p>\n

Protecting our mail-in voting system<\/strong><\/p>\n

I appreciate your concerns over Donald Trump’s recent threats against mail-in voting.\u00a0That is exactly what they are \u2013 threats, intended to cause panic and confusion over the upcoming mid-term elections.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Constitution is clear. Congress and state legislatures have the authority to set the times, places and manner of elections \u2013 not the president.\u00a0Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown has announced he will respond with litigation to any attacks on Washington’s voting system.<\/p>\n

Washington voters have been voting by mail for nearly two decades. It has proven to be convenient, safe and secure. The Washington State Secretary of State takes election misinformation very seriously.\u00a0They monitor social media posts and platforms for any misleading information, responding and sharing factual information on their own social media sites and their “Rumor Has It\u2026<\/a>” webpage.<\/p>\n

Washington is a leader in voting accessibility, which strengthens our democratic processes. Over the last several years, we have been passing legislation to protect Washington’s election security and voting rights.<\/p>\n