Updated May 15, 2026 — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced he is commuting the prison sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who had been facing more than eight years behind bars after being convicted in the aftermath of the 2020 election for allowing unauthorized access to county voting equipment.
Polis said he decided to reduce Peters’ punishment because the original term was “very unusual for a first-time nonviolent offender” and because an appeals court recently found the trial judge had put too much weight on Peters’ beliefs about election fraud — views the court said are protected speech. The governor denied speaking with former President Trump about the action and defended the decision as one of fairness, not politics.
The commutation cuts Peters’ sentence to four years and four-and-a-half months, including time already served, and makes her eligible for parole effective June 1. The clemency does not erase her conviction; the jury verdict and underlying charges remain on the record.
Peters was convicted last summer on seven counts, including attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation and official misconduct. Prosecutors say that in 2021 Peters and others carried out a scheme that allowed an unauthorized person to access Mesa County voting machines; images from the equipment later appeared online. At sentencing, the judge called Peters a “charlatan” and imposed a roughly nine-year sentence of combined jail and prison time.
An appeals court upheld her convictions but ordered that she be resentenced after finding the original punishment was in part based on the judge’s consideration of her protected political speech.
Peters issued a statement saying she made mistakes, acknowledged misleading the secretary of state about who had access to voting equipment, and said she had learned and grown while incarcerated. President Trump, who previously issued a presidential pardon for Peters (a pardon that does not affect state convictions), celebrated the commutation.
Polis’ announcement came as part of a broader clemency package that included pardons and commutations for 44 people. The move drew immediate criticism from Colorado Democrats and election officials. Secretary of State Jena Griswold called the decision a “gross injustice to our elections” with far-reaching consequences. U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper also condemned the reduction, saying it sends the wrong message about undermining public confidence in elections.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser criticized the commutation as “mind-boggling and wrong as a matter of basic justice,” warning that yielding to presidential pressure would encourage more abuse. Republican state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer said she would have preferred the judicial resentencing process to play out before clemency, though she urged Peters to make the most of the opportunity.
Polis acknowledged he strongly disagrees with Peters’ election-related views, calling some of them conspiratorial and false, but argued that holding someone’s beliefs against them in sentencing would be inappropriate. The governor said his focus was equal treatment under the law for nonviolent, first-time offenders.