The USPS had recently recalled the series due to a printing error in the image of Bill Pickett, making his stamps far more valuable.

[24] Polis has been called one of the "Gang of Four"—four wealthy Coloradans who made a concerted effort to support Democrats in statewide legislative races.

[26] In 2000, Polis was elected at-large as a member of the Colorado State Board of Education and served a single six-year term until January 2007, when the district was eliminated.

[29][30][31] In 2006, Polis served as co-chair of Coloradans for Clean Government, a committee that supported Amendment 41, a citizen-initiated ballot measure to ban gifts by registered lobbyists to government officials, establish a $50 annual restriction on gift-giving from non-lobbyists, establish a two-year cooling-off period before former state legislators and statewide elected officials can begin lobbying, and create an independent ethics commission.

[33] In 2014, Polis planned to champion two ballot measures to limit fracking in Colorado by banning drilling near schools and homes and empowering communities to pass their own rules.

[40] Polis was the Red to Blue program chair for the DCCC during the 2012 elections, helping recruit and raise money for Democratic candidates in competitive congressional districts.

[58] Polis won reelection to a second term, defeating Republican nominee Heidi Ganahl, a member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents.

[67] In September 2015, Polis voiced support for altering university disciplinary processes surrounding campus rape to allow for cases to be judged against a reasonable likelihood standard, saying that: "If there are 10 people who have been accused, and under a reasonable likelihood standard maybe one or two did it, it seems better to get rid of all 10 people ... we're not talking about depriving them of life or liberty, we're talking about them being transferred to another university, for crying out loud.

[70] In the House, Polis was an advocate for civil liberties, saying while campaigning in 2008 that "balance must be restored between the executive and the judicial branch (through restoring habeas corpus, and clarifying that the president does not have the Constitutional authority to alter legislation through signing statements) and between the executive and the legislative branch (clarifying that the Fourth Amendment requires probable cause and a warrant for the government to monitor Americans)".

[76] In February 2017, Polis launched the Congressional Cannabis Caucus along with Representatives Don Young, Earl Blumenauer, and Dana Rohrabacher.

[77] Polis supports an open and free internet, and has been critical of SOPA, PIPA and CISPA, saying in an interview with Forbes, "I oppose piracy and want to see intellectual property protected because that is what fosters and rewards innovation.

[81] Polis and Representatives Zoe Lofgren and Darrell Issa sponsored Aaron's Law[82] in the wake of the suicide of computer programmer and internet activist Aaron Swartz, the co-founder of Reddit, who was facing computer and wire fraud charges, more than 30 years in prison and fines of over $1 million for violating the terms of service for illegally downloading academic journal articles from the digital library JSTOR.

"[86] Polis voted against the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, and opposes Section 1021, which drew controversy about implications to detention policy.

In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, he wrote that the Act "is a bill that has been plagued with abuse since it was first passed, and today's rule is yet another example of short-circuiting the system that our Founding Fathers set up.

514, extending expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, authorizing court-approved roving wiretaps that permit surveillance on multiple phones, allowing court-approved seizure of records and property in anti-terrorism operations, and permitting surveillance against a so-called lone wolf, a non-US citizen engaged in terrorism who may not be part of a recognized terrorist group.

[94][95][96] Polis has sponsored other education bills and legislation regarding students, including: Polis has also introduced the Computer Science Education Act, which helps provide job training for computing jobs, and the ACE Act, which would provide funding to improve outcomes for students in persistently low-performing schools, and to authorize school "turnaround grants.

[112] In 2019, he opposed a major provision in House Bill 1312 that made it harder for parents to seek non-medical vaccine exemption for their children.

"[116] Polis also took a congressional delegation trip to Afghanistan, meeting with former Afghan Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar, U.S. military officials and diplomats.

During his meeting with Atmar, Polis focused on the education gap between Afghanistan and Western nations, the low literacy rate for Afghan police and military officials and combating political corruption.

He pushed for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, and praised the Obama Administration's decision for the Justice Department to no longer defend DOMA, saying, "Section 3 of the law is unconstitutional.

"[124] In a statement Polis said, "I applaud the Administration for finally recognizing what my colleagues and I have long criticized, to deny people the ability to officially acknowledge their relationship and feel welcomed as partners only for being LGBT is absurd and today's decision confirms this".

SNDA would establish a comprehensive federal prohibition in all public and elementary and secondary schools of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, expanding Title IX of the Education Amendments Act to LGBT students.

[134][135] In September 2014, Polis filed a discharge petition to bring the LGBT Employment Non-Discrimination Act to the House floor for a vote.

[136] Polis urged Obama to reconsider the inclusion of Malaysia and Brunei in a Trans-Pacific Partnership because of their poor record on LGBT rights.

[139] In April 2022, Polis said he opposed the repeal of the Reedy Creek Improvement Act and said he would welcome Disney if it left Florida for Colorado.

[140] On April 14, 2023, he signed into law three health care bills enshrining access to abortion and gender-affirming procedures and medications in Colorado.

The bills ensure people in surrounding states and beyond can have an abortion, begin puberty blockers, or receive gender-affirming surgery in Colorado without fear of prosecution.

[154] In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, an event widely considered a watershed moment in the modern LGBTQ rights movement, Queerty named Polis one of the Pride50 "trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people".

Before Swift's Eras Tour arrived in Denver in July 2023, Polis posted a letter on his Instagram account with dozens of her song lyrics.

[163] In September 2021, Polis married his longtime partner, Marlon Reis, in a small Jewish Renewal ceremony with family and a few friends[144] at a synagogue in Boulder.