Good Question: Having trouble reaching your state lawmaker?

ROCHESTER, N.Y.(WHEC)— Over the past year, we’ve heard from many of you reaching out to elected officials who serve you in Albany. It could be a COVID question, unemployment issues, or something else happening here in this community.

But here’s one thing that caused some confusion with that process recently.

Check out this message News10NBC’s Brennan Somers got from a viewer named Ted: I have sent an email to both of my state representatives recently. Both have sent back an automated response. One said there is a problem with their system, and the other said she is overwhelmed with emails and will get back to me. Is there a problem with NYS computers?

Somers started to track down the answers.

Through a series of emails he sent, Somers traced the issue back to the NYS Senate and Senator Samra Brouk’s office. Her district covers parts of Rochester, the suburbs, and the Finger Lakes. The message some people living here got over the past week states her office had a glitch with the email system.

An influx of auto-replies went to people who tried to reach Sen. Brouk going back a few months. Some got the same note multiple times. The problem is now fixed, so you shouldn’t be hit with any more random emails.

So, that’s what happened with the glitch and all those messages that came back to back from Sen. Brouk’s office. To answer the other part of the question, it’s normal to get a quick auto-response from a lawmaker. That’s what happened to this viewer when he also reached out to his state Assemblymember.

That’s because of the sheer volume of messages, some get hundreds daily.

If you need a more direct route for a quicker answer on something, you can always try calling instead.

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Watch previous Good Question segments here. If you have a question you’d like answered, email GoodQuestion@whec.com.