Colorado Governor Commutes Sentence of Election Official Convicted in 2020 Election Case
Quick Look
- Colorado Governor Jared Polis commuted the sentence of Tina Peters, a Republican election official convicted for her role in breaching county election systems.
- Polis called her nine-year sentence "harsh" and disproportionate for a first-time, non-violent offender, leading to her parole in June.
- Critics, including Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Senator John Hickenlooper, condemned the decision as an "affront to our democracy" and a bad message to those undermining election confidence.
AI-generated summary
Polis, who previously described Peters' nine-year sentence as "harsh", announced on Friday that she would be released on parole in June.
Colorado's top election official and Secretary of State Jena Griswold called it "an affront to our democracy", while some others warned it could embolden efforts to undermine confidence in future elections.
Peters, a Republican, was convicted in August 2024 on seven counts for her role in breaching Mesa County's election computer systems and allowing an unauthorised individual to access voting equipment and election records.
The case became one of the most high-profile prosecutions connected to attempts to challenge the outcome of the 2020 election, which Trump falsely claimed had been stolen from him.
"I made mistakes, and for those I am sorry," Peters said, in part. "I have learned and grown during my time in prison and going forward I will make sure that my actions always follow the law, and I will avoid the mistakes of the past."
Defending his commutation of Peters, Governor Polis argued that while she did commit a crime, her "sentence is simply disproportionate for a first time, non-violent offender".
"To be clear, I am not pardoning Tina Peters, and I have never considered a pardon," Polis wrote in a lengthy Facebook post.
"Tina Peters violated state law and broke the public trust by lying to the Secretary of State and illegally accessing a computer room in 2021 prior to a software update," Polis said. "Her actions were clearly illegal, wrong, and financially costly to Mesa County, and Colorado."
"It's one of my bedrock beliefs that our laws should be applied fairly, and I simply do not believe that was what happened in this case," he added.
But many of his fellow Democrats did not see it the same way.
"I strongly disagree with this decision," Democratic Senator of Colorado John Hickenlooper wrote on X. "Reducing her sentence sends the wrong message to those seeking to undermine trust in our elections and it will do nothing to deter Donald Trump's illegal attacks on Colorado."
