Colorado Gov. Jared Polis commutes sentence of 2020 election denier
A woman convicted of trying to breach her county’s election systems to prove President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election will get out of prison early. Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced he would commute Tina Peters’ prison sentence.
Peters, a Republican, was the former election clerk of Mesa County. She was convicted in 2024 of allowing an unauthorized person to access secure election equipment and software in an attempt to prove voter fraud.
“I made mistakes, and for those I am sorry,” Peters wrote on X following her clemency announcement. “Five years ago I misled the Secretary of State when allowing a person to gain access to county voting equipment. That was wrong.”
Polis called Peters’ sentence “extremely unusual and lengthy” for a first-time offender who had committed nonviolent crimes.
He announced he’s cutting Peters’ sentence in half to 4.5 years, meaning she could be free on parole within a month.
Trump and members of the Colorado GOP praised the decision.
“FREE TINA,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump has long pushed for Peters’ release.
“This outcome would not have been possible without the continued pressure and advocacy from President Trump who always knew Tina deserved fairness under the law,” Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Co, wrote on X.
In his letter, Polis said he agreed with an appellate court’s decision which ruled the judge in Peters’ case improperly punished her for free speech about the 2020 election.
Not everyone, especially Democrats, agreed with that move.
“She broke the law, undermined our elections, and was convicted by a jury of her peers,” Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Co, wrote on X. Bennett is running to succeed Polis as governor.
Colorado General Assembly Democrats had also pleaded with their governor not to commute Peters’ sentence.
Polis clearly expected pushback from within his own party.
“I hope that Democrats don’t sacrifice our deeply held belief in free speech because of political expediency or disregard for what people are saying,” Polis told CNN. “There should be no consideration of what we say, how unpopular it is, how inaccurate it is in sentencing or in criminal proceedings.”
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
