Clemency Granted to Ex-Elections Clerk Amid Controversial Conviction

Colorado Governor Jared Polis has granted clemency to Tina Peters, a former county elections clerk convicted of tampering with voting machines during the 2020 presidential election. Peters, a 70-year-old Republican, will be released on parole after her nine-year prison sentence was shortened to time served.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis granted clemency to Tina Peters on Friday, a former county elections clerk found guilty of illegal tampering with voting machines. Peters was charged while perpetuating unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

In his clemency letter, Polis, a Democrat, explained his decision to commute Peters’ nine-year sentence to time served, ordering her release on parole effective June 1. Without clemency, Peters, aged 70, would remain behind bars until November 2028. Peters had strongly endorsed Trump’s baseless assertions that the 2020 election was fraudulent, causing him to lose to Biden.

Peters was the Mesa County Clerk when she was indicted in 2022 after an election security breach exposed voting equipment passwords on a right-wing blog. Although denying any wrongdoing, Peters was convicted on seven charges in 2024, including three counts of attempting to influence a public servant.