May 15 (Reuters) – Colorado Governor Jared Polis granted clemency on Friday to former county elections clerk Tina Peters, who was convicted of illegally tampering with voting machines as she pursued unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen.
Polis, a Democrat, wrote in his clemency letter to Peters that he was commuting her nine-year prison sentence to time already served and ordering her release on parole effective June 1. Prior to gaining clemency, Peters, 70, would not have been eligible for release until November 2028.
Peters, a Republican, was an outspoken supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that he lost the 2020 White House race to Democrat Joe Biden because of widespread election fraud.
Peters was the clerk of Mesa County when she was indicted in 2022 following an election security breach at her office that led to voting equipment passwords getting posted on a right-wing blog. She denied wrongdoing but was convicted in 2024 on seven charges, including three counts of attempting to influence a public servant.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Steve Gorman; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Michelle Nichols and Bill Berkrot)
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