Dear Coloradans,

As a psychologist, mother, and climate activist, I have been committed to protecting people’s health, safety and wellbeing, and this is the reason that I entered the US Senate race a year ago. Among other things, I wanted to take action to address the impacts of the climate emergency, and to advocate for a Single Payer Medicare for All system. This has been my focus at more than 200 events I have attended in the last year.

As a newcomer to politics, my only route to the Democratic primary ballot is via petition. Now I must acknowledge that with the Coronavirus reaching pandemic status, the collection of petition signatures itself has the potential to threaten public health.

I deeply appreciate that our team of 120 volunteers have sacrificed a great deal of personal time working to collect the 10,500 signatures required to place me on the ballot. As such, I cannot in good conscience continue to ask them to risk contracting the virus, or to interfere with others who are trying to self-quarantine, as a potential result of doing this work. I have therefore suspended signature collection before the deadline for submission to the Secretary of State. Let me be very clear that I am not suspending my campaign for US Senate. I am more determined than ever to stay in the fight to bring attention to the climate crisis in the Senate.

Circulating petitions in public connects campaign supporters with voters in a personal way. But that strength is also one of many weaknesses inherent in this process. The proximity and exchange of materials required for public signature collection increases potential exposure to pathogens. This is one of many reasons we must modernize our petition system to include online signatures, so that all voters may participate, including those who must avoid such exposure.

Over the past year of my campaign, I have spoken frequently about the global social, economic, and health collapse that we could anticipate due to the climate crisis. We don’t know what types of crises we will be confronted with, only that the crises will arrive, and that they will come like hurricanes and firestorms - and pandemics.

The Trump administration’s attempts to minimize the severity of the Coronavirus threat will likely result in the loss of tens of thousands of American’s lives, and its attempts to ignore the climate emergency will destroy the lives of hundreds of millions. It is possible that COVID-19 could cause the deaths of 500,000 people in America in the next 3-7 months. How we respond to this crisis and the larger impacts of the climate emergency will define our resilience and our weaknesses.

None of us will be immune from the impacts of the climate crisis and other failures of our leadership to put health and safety first.

I am confident that our Governor,  Legislature and Colorado Democratic Party leaders will find a way to resolve the issue of who makes the ballot for the Primary on June 30. A Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) system would resolve the issue by placing all 9 of the Democratic contenders running for US Senate on a single primary ballot, standing in place of, or alongside virtual assembly and canvassing events, in an attempt to avoid intensive public contact.

If the Democratic Party truly wants to move toward a system that is more equitable, RCV allows more diversity of candidates and voters, reduces the influence of corporate money on campaigns, diminishes voter suppression, and curbs negative campaigning. 

Adopting Ranked Choice Voting for the June 30th primary would be a good way to trial this system for application across Colorado elections. In this time of fear and anxiety, Colorado has an opportunity to become the model, and to show that Democracy can stay intact, even when the world around us is spiraling out of control.

Thanks so much for your support and for your courage as we confront the crisis that is upon us.

Diana Bray