Colorado Governor Commutes Tina Peters' 9-Year Sentence for Election Security Breach Convictions

Tina Peters was released from prison on Monday after serving 606 days. Colorado officials said she had been incarcerated since August 2024. Governor Jared Polis commuted her nine-year sentence last month, reducing it to roughly four-and-a-half years and making her immediately eligible for parole.

Peters was originally sentenced in October 2024. She served less than a quarter of the original term. The Colorado Court of Appeals upheld her conviction in April but ruled that the original sentence improperly factored in her political speech about election fraud.

Peters served as Mesa County clerk and was convicted in 2024 on multiple counts tied to a scheme to breach election system security. Prosecutors said she helped orchestrate unauthorized access to voting equipment in 2021, allowing an outside expert affiliated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to copy data from Dominion Voting Systems machines.

Authorities said the copied data and images, including passwords, were later shared publicly.

Jurors found her guilty of attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, official misconduct, and other charges. Governor Jared Polis said the sentence was “extremely unusual and lengthy” for a first-time nonviolent offender. He wrote that Peters committed “serious crimes” and deserved prison time but that her punishment was disproportionately severe.

“I agree with the appeals court,” he said. Peters appeared on Steve Bannon’s War Room program shortly after her release. ” She also said, “You know, Steve, I’m not even sure yet. After 606 days in prison, It’s been quite the ordeal, but I really want to thank God for his faithfulness and getting me through it, and, you know, it’s been — I think probably for me, Steve, to impress upon every person out there how hard it is to lose your liberty, how easy it is to lose your liberty, but how hard it is to endure it.

Peters told Bannon that Polis pardoned 35 people and gave clemency to nine, including her. ” The state Democratic Party formally censured Governor Jared Polis over the commutation. Colorado's Democratic Senator Michael Bennet posted on X that Peters answered questions about whether she learned anything from imprisonment within hours of her release.