Forum: Response to 38th Legislative District session report

Published 1:30 am Saturday, May 9, 2026

Dear Rep. Cortes, and Rep. Fosse,

I am writing in response to your “2026 Session Report to the 38th Legislative District” I received in the mail.

While I appreciate receiving updates from my elected officials, I have serious concerns regarding the messaging in your report—particularly as it relates to immigration and voting rights.

I am a naturalized United States citizen and a military veteran with 20 years of service. I took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, and I have personally experienced the responsibility and significance of earning citizenship through the legal process. Because of that, I do not view voting as a broad or flexible concept—it is a right and duty that is inseparable from citizenship.

In your report under “Standing Up to Intimidation,” you state that legislation was passed to protect individuals affected by immigration enforcement, alongside messaging such as “No Human Being Is Illegal.” Additionally, in the “Voices Lifted, Barriers Removed” section, you emphasize expanding access to voting.

Taken together, this messaging raises legitimate concerns. Regardless of intent, it risks blurring a fundamental and necessary distinction between legal citizenship and eligibility to vote.

I want to be clear: voting rights must remain strictly limited to United States citizens. This is not a political position—it is a foundational principle of our system of government and essential to maintaining public trust in our elections.

Accordingly, I am requesting clear and direct answers to the following:

What specific safeguards do you support to ensure that only U.S. citizens are able to vote in Washington State elections?

How do the policies referenced in your report strengthen—not weaken—confidence in voter eligibility enforcement?

Do you support, now or in the future, any policy that would permit non-citizens to participate in any form of voting?

These are straightforward questions, and they deserve straightforward answers.

As someone who chose to become an American and then served this country for two decades, I take these issues seriously. I expect my elected representatives to communicate in a way that reinforces the rule of law, protects the integrity of our elections, and respects the distinction between citizenship and non-citizenship.

I look forward to your response.

Respectfully,

Mr. Robert Lindenhovius

Marysville