Secretary of State Steve Hobbs announced that Washington is joining a multi-state lawsuit seeking to quickly halt the U.S. Postal Service’s final rule on federal ballot mail before the 2026 midterms.

Today I asked Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson whether she has the leadership skills to last three more years on the job.

Last week I learned that a serious software error in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System led to the registration of roughly 6,600 people who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024, almost three years prior to my taking office. These individuals answered "no" when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers' licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway. This happened under the previous administration and, upon learning this information, I immediately ordered my chief counsel to launch an investigation to get to the bottom of what occurred. I also ordered the removal of any residents from our voter rolls who were erroneously added between June 2023 and June 2024. The new MVC Administrator that I appointed has begun the process of replacing the vendor responsible for administering the system. Our preliminary analysis shows fewer than 400 individuals who were newly registered for the first time because of the error voted. They were registered as Democrats, Republicans and Unaffiliated voters and were scattered across the state. I want to underscore how seriously I take this matter. As a military veteran who swore an oath to defend our Constitution, and as a former federal prosecutor, I believe the integrity of our elections is fundamental to our democracy. I am appalled by the reckless failures that allowed this to happen and the lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time. This failure didn’t occur under my watch, but accountability starts now. I am taking action to prevent anything like it from occurring in the future and make sure those responsible are held accountable. As the Trump Administration tries to weaponize elections for political gain, I am ensuring we protect our elections. Let me be clear: Donald Trump has zero credibility on the issue of election integrity. For more than ten years, he has worked to undermine Americans' faith in our elections by spreading lies about legitimate election results, attempting to overturn a free and fair election, encouraging an attack on our Capitol when he couldn't accept the will of the voters, and defunding election security at the federal level. The difference is simple: when we find a problem, we don't hide it, deny it, or invent conspiracies. We investigate it, we fix it, and we tell the public. That's what accountability and good governance look like, and that's exactly what my administration is doing. New Jerseyans should have confidence that every eligible citizen can vote, every lawful vote will be counted, and every reasonable step will be taken to protect the integrity of our elections. That's my responsibility, and it's one I will never stop fighting to uphold.

Northwest tribal nations and conservation groups sued the Trump administration over a new rule that aims to eliminate habitat protections for imperiled species. seattletimes.com/seattle-new…

Donald Trump has fired the two Democratic commissioners at the Election Assistance Commission, the agency created to make sure our elections are secure and every vote counts. The lone Republican was quietly allowed to resign. This commission was built to be bipartisan on purpose. Its job is to set fair standards for how we vote and to help every state run clean elections. Trump just blew that up months before the midterms, and he's already tried once to force through changes that would make it harder for eligible voters to register. We cannot let this administration rewrite the rules of our democracy in the dark. We organize, we watch, and we vote like our rights depend on it, because they do 💜

NO TAKE BACKS: The Referendum is one of the structural obstacles to good governance in Washington state. The idea of a representative democracy is you elect people that represent your interests in the laws and budgets they pass… and replace them when they stray from that mission. The referendum encourages voters to use poor judgement in selecting reps, as they have the false idea that they can override their own bad decision via the referendum.

$13M missing: Seattle leaders consider next steps after shocking homelessness audit komonews.com/news/local/audi…

The SAVE America Act is a disaster for democracy and I'm not going let it get passed into law. Are we seriously going to ask rural seniors to buy a $165 passport and drive miles and miles to register to vote in person?

Maybe read your bill? The accepted forms of ID to vote under the SAVE Act: 1. Enhanced REAL ID: Only available in 5 states. Costs up to $50 (poll tax) and requires a birth certificate which 40M Americans lack access to. 2. Valid passport: 146M Americans do not have and costs at least $130 (poll tax). Trump gutted the agencies issuing them. 3. U.S. military ID card presented with military record of service. 4. Government-issued photo ID showing place of birth: 300M Americans do not have one, and costs up to $50 (poll tax). 5. Non-Enhanced REAL ID driver’s license, state ID, or tribal ID shown in conjunction with a birth certificate (40M lack access to) that matches your last name (which 69M women do not have due to marriage) and other forms of documentation, and which require a cost to obtain (poll tax). If this was truly a voter ID bill, it would provide every eligible voter in the U.S. a voter ID, and provide them at no cost to align with the 24th Amendment — so why doesn’t your bill do that if voter ID is so popular?

Today, Attorney General Nick Brown and I signed a letter to Secretary Kristi Noem. We urge her to withdraw ICE agents from the state of Minnesota immediately, for the safety of all.

A proposed state income tax on million-dollar earners in Washington is broadly popular, an independent poll has found. Even, surprisingly, among self-identified Republicans, writes columnist Danny Westneat. st.news/4qiukFZ

My proposal for a Millionaires' Tax creates the biggest tax break for small business owners in state history and expands the Working Families Tax Credit. Let’s seize this opportunity, this session, to make our tax system more fair.