Colorado Gov. Jared Polis commuted the prison sentence of Tina Peters, a former election clerk convicted of crimes related to unauthorized access to voting equipment, following months of aggressive pressure from Donald Trump and his allies.
Peters served as Mesa County clerk in 2020 when she permitted an unauthorized person to use a security badge to access the county's voting systems. The breach exposed passwords and sensitive election data that election deniers later weaponized to challenge the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.
A jury convicted Peters in 2024 on multiple felony counts: attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty, and failure to comply with the secretary of state. She received a nine-year prison sentence.
Trump repeatedly demanded that Polis pardon Peters as part of his broader effort to promote false claims about the 2020 election. The former president issued a federal pardon for her earlier this year, though it carried no legal weight because her convictions were under state law, not federal. Trump simultaneously threatened to withhold federal funding from Colorado and moved to shut down a major climate research laboratory in the state.
The commutation reduces Peters' sentence to four and a half years, with her release now scheduled for June 1. She remains the only person imprisoned for attempting to overturn the 2020 election after Trump granted sweeping pardons to January 6 participants and associates who promoted false electors.
Polis justified the decision by pointing to sentencing disparities within Colorado's criminal justice system. He cited the case of former state senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis, who received probation and community service after pleading guilty to four felonies, including the same charge of attempting to influence a public official. Lewis had submitted forged staff letters during a legislative inquiry into allegations that she mistreated aides.
"It is not lost on me that she was convicted of the exact same felony charge as Tina Peters and yet Tina Peters, as a non-violent first time offender got a nine year sentence," Polis wrote on social media before the commutation. "Justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly."
The move ignited swift backlash from Colorado Democrats. U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, a former governor, said Peters was "guilty as sin and a disgrace to Colorado" and accused her of attempting to undermine the state's election system. He warned that the commutation would send the wrong message to those seeking to erode confidence in elections and would not deter Trump from pursuing illegal actions against Colorado.
Author James Rodriguez: "Peters became a lightning rod for Trump's election lies, and now the commutation validates exactly the kind of political weaponization of the criminal justice system that should worry voters across the country."
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