A Colorado appellate court has mandated a new sentencing hearing for Tina Peters, the former county clerk who received a nine-year prison term for interfering with voting equipment while investigating alleged fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
The three-judge panel on Thursday maintained Peters’ conviction on all seven criminal charges, including attempting to influence a public servant and dereliction of duty, but determined that the trial judge inappropriately factored in her constitutionally protected statements about election irregularities when determining her punishment.
Peters, a Republican, has gained support from former President Donald Trump, who has characterized her as a political prisoner and has pressured Colorado officials and Democratic Governor Jared Polis to secure her release. Polis indicated last month he might consider granting clemency in her case.
The appeals court criticized trial judge Matthew Barrett for allowing Peters’ beliefs about election fraud to influence her sentencing, noting that Barrett had labeled her a “charlatan” who continued to peddle “snake oil that’s been proven to be junk time and time again” during the 2024 proceedings.
“The trial court’s comments about Peters’s belief in the existence of 2020 election fraud went beyond relevant considerations for her sentencing. Her offense was not her belief, however misguided the trial court deemed it to be, in the existence of such election fraud; it was her deceitful actions in her attempt to gather evidence of such fraud,” the appellate panel stated in their decision.
Peters faced criminal charges in 2022 after a security breach occurred in her office, resulting in voting machine passwords appearing on a conservative website. She has consistently maintained her innocence throughout the legal proceedings.
The court provided no guidance regarding what Peters’ new sentence should be, and she remains incarcerated while awaiting the resentencing hearing.
Although Trump issued a federal pardon for Peters in December, the appeals court noted that presidential pardoning authority does not extend to state-level criminal offenses. Peters’ legal representatives, Peter Ticktin and John Case, have not yet responded to media inquiries about the ruling.
