Now that the last election is in the bag let's think for a bit about how we get this done. Most everyone would agree, making it as easy and safe to vote, as reasonably possible, should be very high on the list of the things we expect of our government. Right up there with safeguarding the currency, keeping our streets paved and safe, and protecting us from foreign invaders, etc.  So why, in the name of good government, are we all fumbling about looking for stamps, or trying to figure out where a ballot drop box is and when, in the midst of our busy lives, are we going to drop it off or stand in another unnecessary line to vote? There is a better way. Just send the ballot out with a postage-paid return envelope! This is also called Business Reply Envelope, BRE. This is what corporations use to motivate share holders to vote on a Board of Directors because corporate officers know the value  of increasing voter response. 

BRE, that's how election officials do it in California, Washington State, and Oregon (who just passed BRE) and some counties in counties in Florida, Utah, and New Jersey and in many states for absentee voters. The impact would be minuscule on the $29 billion Colorado budget. Based on the cost in those states we'd pay probably less than $1.5 million per year for statewide elections. In Washington the cost for  a BRE ballot return is virtually equal to the cost of a first class stamp.  What I really like about using tax payers dollars for this is that non-voters would end up paying for voters mail in ballots!

It is time to end the last vestige of the Poll Tax. Do you know that you can't go to the Wal-Mart and buy a single stamp.  According to The Bus Project website 42% of new, first-time voters don’t have a postage stamp in their home.  Quite possibly not much more needs to be said, but here goes for those who are wavering.

BRE  doesn't cost anything unless the ballot gets mailed in, and it will get more people to vote. It is all about making voting easier and giving equal and easy access to everyone. While other studies have shown less dramatic results, in a King County, WA study the percentage of returned ballots jumped from 43% to 74% when they tested BRE in two county elections.

Let's understand that when more people vote our political parties move to the center of the political spectrum. This keeps our politicians from pandering to (and being beholden to) the political extremes. Making voting easier will keep legislative action more in line with what the true majority of our population desires, rather than reflecting the extreme views of political outliers. This is especially true for our primary elections which have trended very much to the extremes. As voter participation increases our representative government just works better.

BRE will reduce the influence of large campaign contributions. If more people vote the effect of targeted campaign funds is diminished, as it takes larger and larger amounts of money to influence larger groups of voters. The role of big money decreases as the number of voters increases. Therefore, BRE, because it increases the number of voters, discourages vote-buying attempts. Plus, our elections would not be subject to the likes of the ugly scandal that enveloped the North Carolina 9th Congressional District election, (a race decided by less than 1000 votes), where paid political operatives gathered up ballots in poor neighborhoods, promising to deliver them, but just tossed them in a nearby dumpster!  Let's not allow purple Colorado to be at risk for such treachery.

Currently the return envelope for ballots does not even inform the voter how much postage is required, and burdens the voter with guessing, overpaying, or trying to get accurate information. BTW none of us had the 70 cent stamp laying around that our 2018 statewide election ballot required. The USPS will deliver unstamped ballots they charged election officials for the postage.  That's how I send mine in!  BallotTrax always tells me mine has been accepted and processed.

BRE levels the playing field between the haves and the have nots, between those who have a car and those who don't, between those who can easily afford books of stamps and those who can't, between those who regularly use the postal service and those who don't (think millennials), and those who need just an extra bit of easy and those who don't.

BRE would empower everyone in difficult circumstances. Elderly individuals and the disabled, especially those in assisted care facilities, may find it difficult to get to polling stations, may not easily travel to ballot drop-boxes, and are unlikely to have a supply of stamps. Did you know that overseas military service personnel and anyone overseas who requests an absentee ballot gets a  BRE sent with their ballot?!!!  That is because federal law requires it!  I have been informed by a former Director of Elections in FL that they now send all absentee ballots out with BRE.

I understand it seems like a small thing, but I have learned that if we take good care of the small things, the big things generally turn out much the better. History tells us representative democracies, that's what we have, are at their best when an informed voting public participates at a high level. 

Hi all, my name is Rich and I have recently been calling myself “The Stamp Guy”. This is because I am spearheading a legislative campaign in Colorado to get the State Legislature to require all statewide election ballots to be mailed out with postage-paid return envelopes. I am devoting all of my public policy change efforts over the next 2 years to getting this done. I think this is a reasonable time frame given that I am retired, resourceful, and have created a small dedicated legislative action team supporting this effort.

We will not twist your arm for a commitment from you beyond signing this petition. I will not solicit any money, nor share your contact info without permission, which I can't even get from this site. All I will ask is that you contact your friends, family and colleagues to support this effort and then actually vote.

Hope all is well with you and yours. I am so grateful that I have been blessed with circumstances that allow me to work on issues like this, to in this small way to make our world a little bit better. I understand this seems like such a small thing, but I have learned that if we take good care of the small things, the big things generally turn out much the better. History tells us representative democracies are at their best when an informed voting public participates at a high level.

If you would like to spearhead this effort in your area then we should talk a lot more. Someday, when you get a ballot that comes with a postage-paid return envelope think kindly of me and perhaps yourself as well. 

Remember and believe, All the forces of evil need is for enough good men and women to do nothing!

Please encourage as many as possible to sign at change.org search for Colorado Ballots.  One key player in this effort is Senate Majority Leader, State Senator Stephen Fenberg of Boulder. Unfortunately, his HB19-1287 election modernization bill did not include BRE. He can be reached at Stephen.fenberg.senate@state.co.us  or call his office at 303-866-4872.  Governor Polis, in May 2019, at the Colorado Springs Town Hall in response to my question promised to sign legislation requiring all statewide Colorado Election ballots to be sent out BREs included!  You can see my video of him promising to do this below.