Tina Peters’ sentence was overturned by Gov. Polis as Griswold criticized the decision
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Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday commuted the sentence of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters — the former election clerk convicted in connection with the 2021 voting machine tampering case that became a landmark in the battle for election integrity — prompting Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold to be praised by President Donald Trump, who wrote “FREE!” in Public Truth.
Polis announced clemency for 44 people on Friday, including 35 pardons and nine commutations, according to the governor’s office. Peters was among those granted a commutation that reduced his prison sentence and granted parole from June 1, 2026.
“Clemency’s power is a great responsibility, and not one I take lightly,” Polis said in a statement announcing the acts of mercy.
“This power has the power to change lives – to help give a second chance to someone who has made serious mistakes – and it comes with a lot of consideration, and sometimes even controversy,” he added.
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Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters speaks at a rally on the west side of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver, Colorado, on April 5, 2022. (Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post)
This move immediately prompted a quick response from Griswold, who accused Polis of authorizing a “suffrage movement.”
“This pardon given to Tina Peters is an affront to our democracy, the people of Colorado, and election officials across the country,” Griswold said in a statement Friday.
“The Governor’s actions today will vindicate and strengthen the electoral denial movement, and leave a dark, dangerous image for American democracy for years to come,” he added.
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Mesa County Clerk and Colorado Republican candidate for Secretary of State Tina Peters will receive a pardon from President Donald Trump. Peters is serving a nine-year prison sentence after a federal judge convicted him of participating in a scheme to hack Mesa County’s voting system. (Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)
According to an executive order signed Friday, Peters’ sentence was reduced from 8 years and 3 months to 4 and 4.5 months. The order grants his parole effective June 1, 2026, with conditions to be set by the Colorado Parole Board.
“Tina M. Peters is also hereby granted a limited commutation so that her total sentence, including time served in the County Jail and Department of Corrections, is commuted to 4 years and 4.5 months, and that she be granted parole effective June 1, 2026,” the order said.
The executive order also expressly stated that the act of clemency “shall not in any way affect the sentencing of a felony.”
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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is allowing taxpayers to keep federal deductions for more time this year, but the federal tax savings for future years will be rolled back into state revenues. (AP)
Polis wrote in the order that “the constitutional and legal conditions for granting this request for mercy are satisfied, and accepting this amendment is in the interest of justice.”
According to the executive order, Peters was sentenced in 2024 on three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, and conspiracy to commit a crime – criminal conspiracy, official misconduct, election violations and failure to comply with the requirements of the secretary of state.
He was sentenced to 8 years and 3 months in the custody of the Department of Corrections, and 6 months in the county jail. His mandatory release date was listed as 2033, and his parole eligibility date was 2028.
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Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold speaks to members of the media outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on Feb. 8, 2024. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg)
Griswold’s office said Peters’ action stems from violations in 2021 involving Mesa County voting machines.
“In 2021, then-Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters compromised her county’s voting machines in an attempt to prove a conspiracy,” Griswold’s office said in a release Friday.
The office said Griswold responded by approving the county’s voting machines, working with Mesa County commissioners to remove Peters from the election oversight position and appoint a former Republican secretary of state to oversee the election process.
Griswold’s office also said Peters’ actions cost Mesa County “nearly $1 million in replacement equipment.”
The secretary of state’s office noted that on April 2, 2026, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld Peters’ convictions while ordering a retrial by the district court.
Trump weighed in on Friday afternoon’s march with a short Public Truth that read simply: “FREE TINA!”
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Peter became a national figure among 2020 election skeptics following the Mesa County voting machine hacking controversy and subsequent criminal prosecution.
Friday’s clemency order deepened the political divide surrounding one of the most high-profile cases in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
