WASHINGTON — A former Colorado county clerk convicted of providing unauthorized access to voting machines to help boost claims the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Donald Trump was released from prison Monday, weeks after Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis commuted her sentence.
Tina Peters, 70, had been serving a 99-month sentence following her 2024 conviction for sneaking an associate of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell into her Mesa County Clerk’s office to copy a Dominion Voting Systems computer server three years before.
But Polis granted the county clerk clemency on May 15 after a state appeals court ruled that her sentence was excessive. Peters’ attorney had also appealed her conviction to the Colorado Supreme Court.
“She committed a crime. She deserves to be a convicted felon,” the Democratic governor said at the time, adding that Peters had been given an “extremely unusual and lengthy” sentence and he had concerns about the chilling effect on free speech.
“It’s not a crime in our country to believe the earth is flat,” Polis explained. “It’s not a crime to believe voting machines are flawed.”
The Colorado Department of Corrections confirmed Peters “was processed for release” on June 1 but declined to “provide additional details regarding residential placement, reporting schedules or travel logistics.”
Peters, who did not have a prior criminal record, also appeared at a “cybersymposium” alongside Lindell promising to unveil proof that the presidential contest between Trump and Joe Biden was “rigged” in the Democrat’s favor.
At the virtual event, video and photos of Dominion’s computer system upgrade — including passwords — were posted online.
Peters was later charged with attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, violation of duty and other crimes.
“Our system of government can’t function when people in government think that somehow, some way, power they have been given is absolute in all respects,” Judge Matthew Barrett told Peters when handing down her sentence in October 2024.
President Trump had railed against Peters’ conviction, pressured Polis to commute her sentence and even issued a symbolic “pardon” for her on the state charges.
Colorado’s governor denied that political pressure prompted his decision, though the Trump administration had frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in environmental grants and other federal funding meant for the state since taking office in January 2025.
Administration officials had also threatened to move US Space Command headquarters to Alabama from the Centennial State.
Colorado Democrats formally censured Polis days after his act of clemency, suggesting that he had caved to Trump’s demands.
State Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who tried to get Trump thrown off the 2024 ballot, also claimed that Polis’ commutation would “embolden the election denier movement.”
Peters had apologized in a statement following her clemency, admitting to “mistakes” and saying that she had “learnd and grown during my time in prison.”
With Post wires
