Colorado Democratic Party censures Jared Polis over Tina Peters clemency

Colorado Democrats censured Gov. Jared Polis late Wednesday for his decision to grant clemency to Tina Peters, a former county clerk who is serving a prison sentence after being convicted of allowing unauthorized access to voting machines in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

The two-term governor’s decision, which he made last week, “materially harmed the Colorado Democratic Party’s institutional credibility and efforts to defend democratic institutions and election integrity,” the party said in a statement.

“Colorado has spent years building trust in our elections and proving they are secure,” the party said. “At a time when democracy and voting rights are under attack across the nation, weakening accountability for someone convicted of undermining that trust is a mistake.”

Peters was sentenced to roughly nine years in prison in 2024 after being convicted of state charges of assisting in the breach of state election equipment. Peters allowed a man affiliated with Mike Lindell, a conspiracy theorist aligned with President Donald Trump, to access Mesa County election systems.

The state was forced to spend nearly one million dollars to replace it all, Secretary of State Jena Griswold said.

In the years since, her case has become a rallying cry for Republicans who continue to falsely insist that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump. Trump himself has championed Peters’ cause.

“The Governor made this decision based on the facts of the case and what he believed was the right thing to do,” Eric Maruyama, Polis’ press secretary, said in a statement. “Sometimes the right thing isn’t the popular thing with everybody. Democracy is strongest when disagreement is met with debate and dialogue, not censorship.”

Polis shortened Peters’ sentence from nine years to 4.5, and she is eligible for parole soon. The governor, who has been careful to insist that his move to halve Peters’ prison term did not constitute a pardon, told CNN last week that the 2024 sentence was draconian and connected to Peters’ political beliefs.

“There should be no consideration of what we say — how unpopular it is, how inaccurate it is — in sentencing or in criminal proceedings,” he said.

But Democrats, including Polis’ potential successor in Colorado, were harshly critical of his decision.

Sen. Michael Bennet, who is running for the state’s governor post in November, told CNN this week that Polis’ “terrible” Peters decision would disqualify him from being considered for the open Senate seat should Bennet win.

“She is a stone-cold election denier,” Bennet said. “She’s never said anything other than that.”