Colorado court overturns Tina Peters' sentence in 2020 election scheme case

A Colorado appeals court has overturned a nine-year prison sentence for Tina Peters, a former Republican county clerk convicted of letting someone access a secure voting system in an effort to prove President Donald Trump’s 2020 baseless claims of election fraud. 

The unanimous decision from a three-judge appeals panel upheld Peter’s conviction but found the lower court had incorrectly sentenced her and infringed on her freedom of speech. 

In the court’s opinion, Judge Ted C. Tow III found the lower court sentenced Peters based partially on her view that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. However, he said, Peters was on trial for “deceitful actions in her attempt to gather evidence of such fraud,” not her views or statements about the election. 

“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,'” he wrote.  

“But the court failed to acknowledge that Peters is no longer the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder. She is no longer in a position to engage in the conduct that led to her conviction,” he continued. “So it cannot be said that the lengthy prison sentence was for specific deterrence.” 

The appeals court ordered the trial court judge to resentence Peters.  

Peters was convicted in 2024 on seven criminal charges, including felony attempt to influence a public servant. Prosecutors accused Peters of stealing a Mesa County employee's security badge to help a man gain access to the county's voter systems to prove false conspiracies about the validity of the 2020 election results.

Peters was running for Colorado secretary of state at the time of the indictment, and attracted significant attention over the case.   

At the time of her sentencing in October 2024, Judge Matthew Barrett described Peters as unremorseful.

“You are no hero. You abused your position – and you’re a charlatan who used, and is still using your prior position, to peddle a snake oil that’s been proven to be junk time and time again,” Barrett said. “Your lies are well-documented and these convictions are serious. I’m convinced you’d do it all over again if you could.”

In December, Trump issued a symbolic pardon for Peters in a Truth Social post, writing: "Tina is sitting in a Colorado prison for the 'crime' of demanding Honest Elections. Today I am granting Tina a full Pardon for her attempts to expose Voter Fraud in the Rigged 2020 Presidential Election!" 

The president’s pardon power, however, only extends to federal charges. Peters was convicted on state charges.  

This story has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Trevor Hughes, Natalie Neysa Alund and Joey Garrison