Community and elected leaders issued statements on May 15, regarding Colorado Governor Jared Polis’ decision to commute former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters sentence, allowing her to be eligible to paraole on June 1, 2026. Tina Peters was convicted of felony charges for unauthorized access to elections machines in the 2020 presidential election.

 

Colorado County Clerks Association

We are furious, disgusted, and deeply disappointed by the Governor’s decision. We have met with him privately to make our position unmistakably clear: Tina Peters deserves the accountability imposed through Colorado’s judicial system, and the Governor should, at the very least, respect that process and allow it to fully play out before intervening.

 

This case was thoroughly investigated, prosecuted, and adjudicated through the rule of law. Undermining that process before it has fully concluded sends a reckless and dangerous message to the public, to election officials, and to anyone entrusted with safeguarding our democratic institutions.

 

Election officials across Colorado, Republicans and Democrats alike, have stood up at every turn to tell the truth about our elections, even while facing harassment, intimidation, threats, and relentless political attacks. They have defended the rule of law, protected voters, and continued serving the public despite enormous personal and professional costs.

 

Rather than standing with those public servants and defending one of our nation’s most cherished rights, the right to vote, Governor Polis is bending the knee to the same political forces and conspiracy movements that are actively undermining confidence in our democratic institutions. That choice carries consequences far beyond this single case.

 

Tina Peters’ actions have made life harder not only for election officials in Colorado, but for election officials across the country. Her conduct became a rallying point for election conspiracy movements that fueled hostility and distrust toward the very people responsible for administering free and fair elections.

 

Last year, an election office in Colorado was firebombed. While the suspect is entitled to the presumption of innocence and the case must proceed through the legal process, public reporting indicates the individual appeared influenced by the same stolen-election conspiracy narratives that Tina Peters helped amplify and legitimize. Election officials are not speaking in hypotheticals anymore.

 

The threats, fear, and escalation are real.

 

At a time when election officials need strong support, this decision abandons them and supports the attack on the legitimacy of American elections.

 

There is no escaping the significance of this moment. This is now Governor Polis’s legacy. He will not be able to run from it or

 

redefine it later. When given the opportunity to stand firmly for the rule of law, for the integrity of Colorado’s elections, and for the public servants who defend them, he chose a different path.

 

This decision is shameful. It rewards criminal conduct connected to attacks on our election system, weakens confidence in accountability, and undermines the very institutions that protect the freedom to vote. Colorado voters deserve leaders who defend democracy, not leaders who legitimize efforts to damage it.

 

League of Women Voters of Colorado

The League of Women Voters of Colorado (LWVCO) holds an unwavering belief in representative government and the fundamental liberties enshrined in the United States Constitution — including the right of every citizen to free, fair, and secure elections. It is precisely because of these convictions that we are deeply troubled by Governor Polis’s decision to commute the sentence of Tina Peters.

Ms. Peters is not a sympathetic figure caught in a legal gray area. She is a former elected official who was unanimously convicted by a jury of her peers for crimes that struck at the very foundation of our democracy. She has expressed no remorse, and she continues to actively spread disinformation that erodes public confidence in Colorado’s electoral system. Commuting her sentence does not serve justice — it undermines it.

Coloradans take election security seriously because it matters. Our elections are administered by dedicated, nonpartisan officials who work with integrity and professionalism to ensure that every vote is cast and counted lawfully. Governor Polis’s decision diminishes the weight of their work and sends a troubling message: that the consequences for betraying the public trust can be negotiated away.

The League of Women Voters of Colorado stands firmly with Colorado’s election officials. We recommit ourselves to amplifying their vital contributions and to defending the integrity of our democratic process — regardless of the political pressures that seek to compromise it.

 

U.S. Congresswoman Diana DeGette  

What the hell was Governor Polis thinking when he commuted Tina Peters’ sentence? She was convicted by a jury of her peers on several criminal charges for interfering in the 2020 election, and her conviction was recently upheld in the Court of Appeals.

 

U.S. Congressman Jason Crow  

Tina Peters undermined a free and fair election. She authorized illegal access to election systems, promoted baseless conspiracy theories, and intentionally misled Coloradans. Tina Peters sided with Donald Trump’s Big Lie over our democracy.

This President continues to tear down our democracy brick by brick. Colorado and our elected leaders should never cow to his threats and intimidation, and we should never give an inch in the fight to protect our values.

Tina Peters is a convicted felon, found guilty by a jury of her peers. She has shown no remorse for her actions, and she should serve the full extent of her sentence. Anything less is an insult to Coloradans, a threat to election integrity, and rewards a wannabe king.

 

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold

This clemency grant to Tina Peters is an affront to our democracy, the people of Colorado, and election officials across the country. The Governor’s actions today will validate and embolden the election denial movement, and leave a dark, dangerous imprint on American democracy for years to come.

In 2021, then-Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters compromised her county’s voting equipment trying to prove conspiracies. Secretary Griswold took swift action when discovering the incident, including decertifying the county’s voting equipment, working with Mesa County commissioners to remove Peters from election oversight, appointing a former Republican Secretary of State to oversee the election, and then leading the nation’s first law on insider threats.

Peters’ actions cost Mesa County nearly one million dollars in replacement equipment.

On August 12, 2024, Peters was found guilty by a jury of her peers on four felonies and three misdemeanors, including three counts of attempts to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one count of first degree official misconduct, one count of violation of duty, and one count of failure to comply with requirements of the Secretary of State. She was sentenced to nine years of incarceration on October 3, 2024.

On April 2, 2026, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld her convictions, and ordered that she be re-sentenced by the District Court.

 

Denver Clerk & Recorder Paul López

Our elections are already under assault by the Trump administration and Americans deserve protectors of our democracy, not accomplices in its demise. I am disgusted by the lack of spine that Governor Polis has exhibited with this act and with his willingness to fall in line with a calculated undermining of free and fair elections.

His decision emboldens those who wish to damage our democratic process by sending the message that they can get away with it. It undermines people’s confidence in elections and the justice system, just as we are headed into a highly contested November midterm election.

 

 

Senadora Julie Gonzales and Candidate for U.S. Senate

By commuting election denier Tina Peter’s sentence today [May 15], Governor Polis just created two tiers of justice: one for Trump’s cronies, and one for everyone else.

This is UNACCEPTABLE and Governor Polis should be ashamed of bending the knee to Donald Trunp’s whims.

To all election workers in this state: this is a dark day for our democracy, but we will continue to uphold truth, integrity, and transparency.

 

David Seligman, Executive Director of Towards Justice and Candidate for Attorney General  

The governor’s commutation of Tina Peters is an outrageous corruption of how our justice system is supposed to work. By ceding to the pressure campaign from an authoritarian president, Governor Polis has surrendered one of the most important tools we have to take on the Trump administration’s corruption and cruelty: The power of state law to hold accountable those who subvert our democracy. I’m running for Attorney General to take on a rigged system, and stand up to Democrats, including the governor, when they bend to the powerful at the expense of working families.

 

Amanda Gonzalez, Jefferson Co Clerk and Recorder, and Candidate Colorado Secretary of State

Gov. Polis granted clemency to Tina Peters, a dark day for democracy. Nearly half a million voters trust me with their right to vote. Anyone who abuses that trust should face real consequences. This commutation only encourages copycats. Our elections are still secure. I’ll keep it that way.

 

State Sen. Jessie Danielson and Candidate Colorado Secretary of State

Governor Polis’s decision to commute Tina Peters’ sentence is deeply disappointing and sets a dangerous precedent at a time when Donald Trump is trying to corrupt our nation’s elections.

Tina Peters abused the public trust and violated her oath of office by compromising secure election data in her pursuit of fame. A jury of her peers convicted her on multiple felony charges and our courts upheld that verdict.

No one should be above the law, especially the officials entrusted with protecting our democracy.

 

District Attorney Michael Dougherty and candidate for Colorado Attorney General

Governor Polis’s decision to commute Tina Peters’ sentence is outrageous and fundamentally undermines the rule of law. Tina Peters was not prosecuted because of her politics, she was prosecuted and convicted because she abused her position of public trust, compromised election security systems, and broke Colorado law. A jury convicted her on multiple felony counts, and the courts upheld that verdict.

This decision sends a dangerous message that powerful political allies can escape accountability. At a time when Donald Trump and his allies continue spreading lies about our elections and attacking the foundations of our democracy, commuting Peters’ sentence rewards the very conduct that has damaged public trust across this country.

Coloradans deserve leaders who will defend the integrity of our elections and respect the work of juries, judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement — not undermine them for political expediency. No one is above the law.

 

SEIU Colorado

SEIU Colorado, uniting two SEIU union locals that bargain on behalf of more than 35,000 healthcare workers, janitors, airport workers, and state workers, are condemning Governor Polis’ decision to commute the sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.

The Governor’s decision comes before a much-anticipated re-sentencing hearing, and will see Peters released June 1, almost two years before her current earliest parole eligibility date of March 2028.

Peters was convicted by a jury on multiple felony charges after breaching secure election equipment and allowing unauthorized access to Colorado’s voting systems, all while serving as an elected official responsible for protecting them.

“Governor Polis has gone around the courts to support someone who violated her duty as Mesa County clerk by setting out to undermine our elections,” asked Hilary Glasgow, Executive Director of Colorado WINS. “This demonstrates he is not on the side of election integrity for Colorado, and strengthens our resolve to stand up for all Colorado voters and protect free and fair elections here and across the country.”

“This also undermines faith in our state’s criminal justice system. We have a backlog of thousands of incarcerated individuals in our prisons who have worked hard to rehabilitate but who are overdue for release because of staffing and programming shortages. This is patently unfair to them and will spark more frustration and unrest in our system,” she added.

Stephanie Felix-Sowy, President of SEIU Local 105, said the case underscores the importance of accountability when public officials undermine democratic institutions.

“Working people believe deeply in fairness in our justice system,” said Felix-Sowy. “Our union supports reforms that make the system more just and reduce unnecessary incarceration. But fairness also means that when someone abuses public office and undermines our elections, there must be accountability through the legal process. A jury heard the evidence and reached a verdict, and that process should have been respected,” she said.

“This makes our Governor complicit in nationwide attempts to undermine election integrity,” said Kallie Leyba, SEIU Colorado’s Executive Director. “SEIU Colorado’s members know our election system is not broken and we are going to fight like hell to keep it that way.”

Peters has not expressed remorse for her crime or taken responsibility for the harm caused by her actions. Indeed, when sentencing Peters, Judge Matthew Barret characterized her as “as defiant a defendant” as his court had ever seen.

SEIU Colorado represents more than 35,000 workers across the state, including state employees, janitors, airport workers, healthcare workers, and security officers who rely on a functioning democracy and fair institutions to advocate for their families and communities.