Appeals court orders resentencing of ex-Colorado clerk jailed for election interference

A Colorado appeals court on Thursday ordered the resentencing of a former state election official who was found guilty of allowing unauthorized access to her county’s voting equipment, the latest development in a closely watched case that has attracted considerable attention from Donald Trump and other election deniers.Tina Peters, a former clerk in Mesa County in western Colorado, was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2024 after a jury found her guilty on three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failure to comply with the secretary of state. Peters was the county clerk in 2020 and later allowed an unauthorized person to access the county’s Dominion voting machines. Sensitive information from the machines later wound up on the internet.“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,” Judge Matthew Barrett said to Peters during sentencing.In its ruling Thursday, the court of appeals upheld Peters’ conviction, but ruled those remarks were improper and had tainted the sentence.“The tenor of the court’s comments makes clear that it felt the sentence length was necessary, at least in part, to prevent her from continuing to espouse views the court deemed ‘damaging’,” the court wrote. “Her offense was not her belief, however misguided the trial court deemed it to be, in the existence of such election fraud; it was her deceitful actions in her attempt to gather evidence of such fraud.”Trump has repeatedly called for freeing Peters and issued her a federal pardon. The appeals court on Thursday said that pardon does not apply to Peters’ state conviction. However, Jared Polis, Colorado’s Democratic governor, has publicly signaled he is open to reducing Peters’ sentence.Jena Griswold, a Democrat who is Colorado’s top election official, said Peters would continue to face accountability.“Her actions have been repeatedly used to spread conspiracy theories, amplify falsehoods and fuel dangerous election lies. Peters should not receive any special treatment as the district court considers resentencing,” she said.Phil Weiser, Colorado’s Democratic attorney general, said Peters’ original sentence was “fair and appropriate”.“Whatever happens with her sentence, Tina Peters will always be a convicted felon who violated her duty as Mesa County clerk, put other lives at risk and threatened our democracy. Nothing will remove that stain.”