Colorado Governor Commutes Sentence of Former Clerk Tina Peters

Colorado Governor Jared Polis commuted the prison sentence of Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk convicted for tampering with voting machines following the 2020 presidential election. Peters, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for granting unauthorized access to county voting equipment, will now be eligible for parole on June 1, 2025. The commutation reduces her sentence to four years and four-and-a-half months, including time served, but does not erase her conviction.

Peters was convicted in August 2024 on seven counts, including attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, and official misconduct. Prosecutors said she and others devised a scheme in 2021 to allow an unauthorized individual, associated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, access to Mesa County voting machines. Data from the breach was later leaked online, forcing the county to replace the machines. Peters had promoted false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

Governor Polis described Peters’ original sentence as “very unusual for a first-time nonviolent offender” and agreed with a recent appellate court ruling that found the sentencing judge improperly considered Peters’ beliefs about election fraud, which are protected speech. “She has crazy viewpoints, conspiratorial viewpoints that are not accurate, not true. But that is not a crime in our country or in our state,” Polis said. He emphasized that Peters committed a crime but deserved a fair sentence. “Tina Peters will remain a convicted felon for her crimes. I am simply correcting what I see as the error the trial court made by sentencing her to nearly nine years in prison,” he added.

Peters expressed remorse in a statement released by her lawyer, saying, “I made mistakes, and for those I am sorry. Five years ago I misled the Secretary of State when allowing a person to gain access to county voting equipment. That was wrong. 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.”

The commutation followed months of pressure from former President Donald Trump, who had pardoned Peters in 2023 for state crimes he lacked authority to pardon and repeatedly called for her release, threatening “harsh measures” against Colorado if she was not freed. Trump celebrated the commutation on social media, posting “FREE TINA!”

The decision drew swift condemnation from Colorado Democrats. Secretary of State Jena Griswold called the clemency grant “an affront to our democracy, the people of Colorado and election officials across the county,” warning it could embolden election denialists. U.S. Senator Michael Bennet said Peters “broke the law, undermined our elections, and was convicted by a jury of her peers,” and described the commutation as a “gross injustice.” Attorney General Phil Weiser called the move “mind-boggling and wrong as a matter of basic justice,” and warned it would encourage further bullying from the Trump administration.

Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubenstein, who prosecuted Peters, previously called modifying her sentence a “gross injustice.” The current Mesa County clerk, Bobbie Gross, expressed concern that Peters’ early release could reignite election conspiracy theories locally and nationally.

Polis stated he did not consult Trump before commuting the sentence and rejected claims that he was yielding to political pressure. “I completely disagree with her beliefs,” he said. “But even if you believe the world is flat, you shouldn’t get a harder sentence because of that. It needs to be done in a consistent and fair way that everyone can have confidence in, regardless of what you believe.”

The Colorado Court of Appeals had ruled last month that the sentencing judge improperly factored Peters’ election fraud beliefs into her punishment, directing a resentencing without consideration of those views. Polis said he was correcting the sentencing error and that Peters’ sentence was disproportionate for a first-time, nonviolent offender. The governor also noted that Peters was no longer in office and thus not in a position to repeat the conduct.

The commutation is part of a broader clemency action by Polis, who granted pardons and commutations to 44 individuals on Friday. Despite the commutation, Peters will remain a convicted felon and is expected to advocate for election integrity and prison reform after her release.