Colorado secretary of state urges governor not to pardon Tina Peters

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) is urging Gov. Jared Polis (D) not to pardon Tina Peters, amid an intense pressure campaign led by President Donald Trump to free the convicted election denier.

Peters, a former GOP county clerk, is serving a nine-year state prison sentence for her role in a 2021 voting system breach.

“Tina Peters granted unauthorized access to [voting] equipment and placed the security of Mesa County’s elections, and all of our elections, at risk,” Griswold said in an interview with Democracy Docket. “Her actions have been used to spread countless conspiracies and incite countless threats against election officials here in Colorado and across the country. She was found guilty by a jury of her peers in a conservative county where she’s from. And she is one of the only people in the entire country who is still facing accountability for attacking American elections.”

On Tuesday, Griswold, along with two Republican leaders of the Colorado County Clerks Association, sent a letter to Polis asking him to not pardon or commute Peters’ sentence, warning the governor that a pardon could further embolden far-right election deniers, putting election workers and future elections at risk.

Polis, who is term-limited from running for reelection this year, recently signaled possible clemency for Peters after relentless pressure and retribution against Colorado from Trump. Trump himself issued a legally meaningless “pardon” to Peters in December; since she was convicted on state charges, the federal government has no authority over her case.

“She got a sentence that was harsh. It was a 9 year sentence,” Polis said in an interview last week. “So we always look at people’s sentences. And when you have people that are elderly, and we’re looking at this across a number of many people — people in their 70s or 80s in our system — how much of a threat to society are they and how do we balance that in a way that makes sure they can spend their last year few years at home?”

Polis previously indicated he would not give into Trump’s pressure campaign and pardon Peters. Griswold told Democracy Docket that she was surprised by Polis’ recent comments that he was considering a pardon and believes if the governor pardoned or commuted Peters’ sentence, it would send the wrong message.

“We are continuing to see a very intense threat atmosphere for elections,” Griswold said. “Donald Trump, obviously, is trying to make it worse when he issued his illegal, fake pardon. We saw far-right figures calling for battle if Tina wasn’t released, suggesting that the military should free her. So I think anything that shows that people who would threaten election officials or our election infrastructure make it off without any type of accountability, it just emboldens the people who would want to attack our elections and our democracy.”

In 2021, Peters — then the Mesa County clerk — allowed unauthorized individuals to access sensitive voting-machine software during a 2021 update, helped copy and circulate confidential election data and then misled investigators as the scheme unraveled. The data later appeared in fringe, far-right conspiracy circles promoting Trump’s “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen away from him. 

Griswold first launched an investigation into the Mesa County election office when QAnon conspiracy theorist Ron Watkins posted screenshots and videos of a Mesa County voting machine. Peters was later found guilty of three felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one felony count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation and a slew of misdemeanors.

Peters was sentenced to a state prison by Colorado District Judge Matthew Barrett, who did not mince words during the sentencing hearing. 

“You are no hero, you abused your position and you’re a charlatan who used, and is still using, your prior position in office to peddle a snake oil that’s been proven to be junk time and time again,” Barrett said.

Peters’ lawyers appeared in a state appeals court Wednesday to get her conviction overturned. Her attorneys argued that the president can pardon people on state crimes if they were carrying out federal duties — like preserving records for a federal election.

Since Trump’s return to office, Peters has become a cause célèbre among conspiracy-driven far-right activists and election deniers — some of whom have called for violence to free her. Griswold worries that a pardon for Peters would not only encourage conspiracy theorists and election deniers but also Trump, who has punished Colorado over Peters by vetoing key bills and withholding federal funding. 

“Allowing a president to act lawless leads to more actions of lawlessness,” Griswold said. “Allowing a vengeful president to succeed in his vengeance encourages more vengeance. So I ultimately do not believe that the state of Colorado should give in to the demands of President Trump, and we need to stay firm, uphold our laws and uphold our democracy.”