Tina Peters case: Colorado Democrats censure governor for commuting sentence of convicted election denier

Colorado Democrats voted Wednesday to formally condemn and censure Gov. Jared Polis (D) over his decision to commute the sentence of Tina Peters, the former GOP election official convicted for her role in a voting system breach.

Censuring means Polis won’t be welcomed to participate “as an honored guest, featured speaker, or officially recognized representative” at any events sponsored by his own state party. 

Polis, whose term ends in January, was widely condemned — by election officials and Democratic and Republican elected officials and lawmakers — last week when he announced that he was cutting Peters’ sentence in half, which makes her eligible for parole in just a few weeks.  

But now Polis is being castigated by his own state party over the decision. 

“Reducing her sentence now, under pressure from Donald Trump, is not justice,” the Colorado Democratic Party said in a statement of the censure. “It sends a message to future bad actors that election tampering has consequences, unless you’re friends with the president. That’s a dangerous and disappointing precedent to set.”

Peters was convicted in 2024 after prosecutors showed she facilitated unauthorized access to Mesa County voting equipment and helped expose sensitive system data, actions driven by false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from President Donald Trump. A jury found Peters guilty on multiple counts, and she was sentenced to nine years in prison by a judge who called her a “charlatan” who peddled “snake oil” and said she showed no remorse for her actions. 

Since her incarceration, Peters has become a cause célèbre among election deniers, MAGA supporters, and the far-right. Trump repeatedly called on Polis to free Peters and punished Colorado with funding cuts and other retaliatory measures for keeping her locked up.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) previously warned that Polis’ actions have “far-reaching consequences” as violence and threats toward election workers have sharply increased since Peters was sentenced. 

“Colorado has spent years building trust in our elections and proving they are secure,” Colorado Democrats added. “At a time when democracy and voting rights are under attack across the nation, weakening accountability for someone convicted of undermining that trust is a mistake.”