An Outrageous Commutation for an Election Denier

Local election officials are central to functional elections in the United States. Tina Peters served as county clerk in Mesa County, Colorado, during the 2020 election and signed documents affirming that results were in order. Afterward, she adopted election-denial claims and ordered security cameras turned off. She allowed an election-denial activist access to voting data, lied to staffers to obtain a badge under another person’s name, and later claimed ignorance after the data leaked. The county had to replace all voting machines. In 2024, she was convicted of four felonies and three misdemeanors and sentenced to nearly nine years in prison. Colorado Governor Jared Polis commuted the sentence, setting her release for June 1.

"Later, however, she became convinced of claims by Donald Trump and others that the election was tainted by fraud. Peters ordered security cameras turned off, then allowed an election-denial activist access to voting data from her county. She lied to staffers, obtaining him a badge under another person's name. When the data leaked, she falsely claimed ignorance. (The county eventually had to replace all of its voting machines.)"

"In 2024, Peters was convicted of four felonies and three misdemeanors related to the case, and was sentenced to almost nine years in prison. (She pleaded not guilty.) On Friday, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, announced that he had commuted Peters's sentence, setting her to be released from prison on June 1. This is a serious mistake. Perhaps Polis succumbed to threats and pressure from Trump to subvert justice, but he insists he did not."

"Whatever the motivation, clemency for Peters weakens the rule of law, and it will encourage those who wish to undermine elections. Peters became a cause célèbre for Trump and his backers-"the most prominent MAGA prisoner still behind bars," as my colleague Yvonne Wingett Sanchez wrote last year. Peters was so prominent mainly because she was one of the very few people involved in post-2020 election denial to face a serious consequence."

Read at The Atlantic