An attorney representing Tina Peters said he hopes the Democrat Colorado Gov. Jared Polis will commute his nine-year prison sentence, a move that could free from prison the only person serving a sentence related to the attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
Peters was a county clerk in Mesa County in western Colorado in 2020 and allowed an unauthorized person to use a security card and access her county’s voting equipment. Passwords and other sensitive information related to the county’s election equipment were later made public and used by election deniers to attempt to challenge the results of the 2020 election.
In 2024, a jury found Peters guilty of three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, official misconduct in the first degree, dereliction of duty, and failure to comply with the Secretary of State. She was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Polis to pardon Peters as part of an ongoing effort to spread false information about the 2020 election. He issued a federal pardon for Peters earlier this year, which was unrelated to her case because she is convicted of state crimes.
Peter Ticktin, Peters’ attorney, said in an interview Wednesday that he hoped the governor would commute the sentence. He also noted that a Colorado appeals court was also skeptical about the severity of Peters’ sentence during a hearing earlier this year.
“I’m pretty sure. I think it will happen this week,” he said, adding that he was making that prediction based on “a little more than tea leaves.”
Peters’ case has been a cause célèbre among Trump and his supporters because he remains the only person jailed for trying to overturn the 2020 election after Trump granted broad pardons to those involved on Jan. 6 and to aides who helped with the fake elector scheme.
On Tuesday, Polis gave the clearest signal yet that he is considering granting clemency.
Polis compared Peters’ case to that of a former state senator, Sonya Jaquez Lewis, who was convicted of four felonies, including attempting to influence a public official. Lewis was sentenced to probation and community service. Lewis’ charges stem from falsified letters he submitted from staff as part of a legislative investigation into whether he mistreated his aides.
“It is not lost on me that she was convicted of the exact same felony charge as Tina Peters (attempting to influence a public official), and yet Tina Peters, as a first-time non-violent offender, received a nine-year sentence,” Polis wrote in
Polis’ post Tuesday caused immediate alarm in Colorado, where many officials urged the governor not to pardon Peters.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said Peters and Lewis’ cases were not comparable, noting in a statement that Lewis was convicted of one count of attempting to influence a public servant and three counts of forgery.
“Beyond a common position, it is not accurate to suggest that the actions or impacts of Peters and Sonya Jaquez Lewis are the same. Peters organized the breach of election equipment, broke the public trust, and attacked the very foundation of our democratic process,” Griswold, a Democrat, said in a statement. “His actions are still being used to try to undermine the 2026 election. He should not receive special treatment from the Governor, and his statement is shocking and concerning.”
The Colorado Sun asked all Democrats in the state legislature whether Polis should reduce Peters’ sentence, and none said he should. “I think it’s a ridiculous idea,” state Rep. Karen McCormick told the outlet. “What are you thinking?”
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat running for governor of Colorado, also said Peters should not receive a pardon.
“Tina Peters knowingly broke the law, undermined our elections and was rightfully convicted by a jury of her peers,” he said in a post on X. “At a time like this, we cannot capitulate to a lawless administration. We must firmly defend our institutions, our democracy and the rule of law.”
Dan Rubinstein, the district attorney whose office prosecuted Peters, said it would be a “grave injustice” if his sentence were modified. He noted that the law allows for a range of sentencing for the same crime.
“That range exists because the same crime can be committed in very different ways and have very different consequences,” he said in a statement. “While the governor has the legal authority to modify a sentence, doing so here would be a grave injustice to the affected citizens I represent.”
