Statement from Secretary of State Jena Griswold following Commutation of Tina Peters

Denver, May 15, 2026 - Today Governor Jared Polis commuted the sentence of Tina Peters, who was convicted of four felonies and three misdemeanors by a jury of her peers in Mesa County for her role in breaching her own election equipment in 2021.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has issued the following statement:

This clemency grant to Tina Peters is an affront to our democracy, the people of Colorado, and election officials across the country. The Governor’s actions today will validate and embolden the election denial movement, and leave a dark, dangerous imprint on American democracy for years to come.

In 2021, then-Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters compromised her county’s voting equipment trying to prove conspiracies. Secretary Griswold took swift action when discovering the incident, including decertifying the county’s voting equipment, working with Mesa County commissioners to remove Peters from election oversight, appointing a former Republican Secretary of State to oversee the election, and then leading the nation’s first law on insider threats.

Peters’ actions cost Mesa County nearly one million dollars in replacement equipment.

On August 12, 2024, Peters was found guilty by a jury of her peers on four felonies and three misdemeanors, including three counts of attempts to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one count of first degree official misconduct, one count of violation of duty, and one count of failure to comply with requirements of the Secretary of State. She was sentenced to nine years of incarceration on October 3, 2024.

On April 2, 2026, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld her convictions, and ordered that she be re-sentenced by the District Court.