the level of what election clerks around the country were seeing. It’s scary. So this stuff has to be taken seriously. Treating it as veiled threats or what have you — as one of the Georgia election offi - cials said, “Somebody is going to get hurt if this stuff doesn’t stop.” And then January 6 happened. So we have to be eyes wide open and take this stuff seriously; it isn’t just talk. And there are people who are driving this, infl uencers who are encouraging this. At what point does free speech infringe on someone else’s ability to be safe? It’s a hard conversation, but it’s one that we have to have. What are your thoughts about open primaries? Independents now make up about 45 percent of the country. In Colorado, it is well over 40 percent. So Independents are a growing group, and that trend has been happening for a long period of time. I think people are feeling left out of the two parties, or not engaged, or they can make their own decisions and they don’t need to have a party tell them what decision to make. I am a huge proponent of open processes. I think it provides a better way for all voters to be engaged. I respect the parties’ ability to infl uence the outcomes and choices on the ballot, and I think there are ways to do that without closing the primary. There are new methods of open prima- ries, including one that is going to be tested in Alaska this year. That is what is considered a top four or top fi ve open primary. Every voter gets the same ballot, regardless of your party affi liation. Everyone gets the same ballot, and the top four or top fi ve candidates go to the general election. Maybe it is two Republicans and two Democrats, or maybe it includes an Independent, but the top vote-getters in that fi rst round go to the general election, and then ranked-choice voting is used, and people can rank their preferences. Alaska is going to do that for the special vacancy election for Ralph Young’s seat com- ing up, and then they’re going to do that for all their races this August and November. That is one to watch. I think that reform has a lot of promise. It could be something Colorado could take a look at, given the growing number of voters who have chosen to be Independent. When you’ve got 45 percent Indepen- dents, it kind of puts the parties at risk to have a closed process. The assemblies — it’s this tiny percentage of voters who participate, and it kind of puts you at risk. Because if you aren’t testing some of your candidates in the primary to see if they would appeal to that 45 percent of the electorate, and you throw somebody out there who only appealed to a tiny percentage within the party, you’re putting yourself at risk for not giving full consideration to all issues. In our primary structure, if there are ten candidates, you can win with 20 percent or 25 percent of the electorate. Which means that 70 percent of people didn’t vote for you. To me, that’s kind of an odd construct. What are you working on now in your role with the United States Postal Service? I’m one of nine governors that are ap- pointed by the president. I’m the only In- dependent, and the only woman. The postal service delivers to 160 million doors every day. We have a $95-billion- a-year operation and 650,000 employees. It is the only government entity, or quasi- government entity — or really, any business — that has reached every single commu- nity in the country. We just rolled out the test kit program, where the administration purchased test kits, and the postal service handled all logistics on that, and we were very successful. In my role, the new chair of the board asked me to chair the elections commit- tee. We have a few committees. We have a strategy and innovations committee, which I serve on. We have a governance committee, an auditing and fi nancial committee, an ops committee, and then we have an elections committee. So I’m chairing the elections committee now, which has a focus on how the postal service serves the public with regard to all election mail. And that doesn’t include just vote by mail; it includes all letters that election offi cials send out, which is a lot of mail, actu- ally. Voter registration letters, notices about polling places — we deliver all of that, and we provide the tracking information, the change- of-address information. So the postal service defi nitely has a role in the election process, and I’m really focused on how I can help the postal service improve on these processes and better serve every single community in the country. There are very diverse needs and perspectives — from Alaska, where they have sleds that deliver some mail and planes that fl y into very remote areas, to metropolitan areas, where everything is more condensed. So it’s an honor to be part of that, and I’m deeply impressed by the postal service and the depth and breadth of operations and how they have connectivity across the country. In 2020, they had the fastest delivery times on election mail they have ever had, and we got even better in 2021. That is a met- ric I am keeping my eye on — how long it gets for a delivery to get from point A to point B. And it is not just about elections. If we can improve service for election mail, we are improving service for all mail. We are trying to improve a service that has a uni- versal service obligation under the law, and we have to be fi nancially stable, we have to cover our costs, so we operate as a business even though we’re quasi-governmental. We just passed the Postal Reform Act, which not only addresses some issues about retiree benefi ts, but also requires the postal service to report on mail service across the country, so there will be more transparency. And the president’s budget included an allocation of dollars for improvements in election mail and supporting that process. It’s very much op- erational. It is not a full vote-by-mail system nationally, but it directs the postal service to improve services around election mail, to do more than we already do. It has a provision for postage, reducing the amount of postage states and locals have to pay. It has more sup- port for rural or underserved communities, including reservations. It’s pretty fl exible, and it allows us to determine the strategic placement of some of those funds, but all with the goal of improving service and access for the public. Email the author at [email protected]. 17 Needing Your Emotional Animal W/ You? For eligible people who need their emotional support animal to accompany them at/or away from home, I am available to provide the documentation and counseling. Call Elaine Lustig, PhD at 303-369-7770 CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED DEBT & IRS PROBLEMS? SET UP YOUR INITIAL CONSULTATION BEFORE THE IRS AND OTHER CREDITORS ENFORCE COLLECTION EFFORTS. MICHAEL M. NOYES ATTORNEY & CPA 303-756-6789 westword.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | WESTWORD APRIL 14-20, 2022
