Former Mesa County (CO) Clerk Tina Peters' 2024 conviction, on election interference and seeking to influence a public official, raised an outcry not only because of the biased nature of the trial and conviction, but for the harsh sentence of nine years in prison. Election integrity advocates, attorneys, and supporters worked to expose the bias, inconsistencies, and inaccuracies in Peters' trial and conviction, and requested that President Donald Trump intervene to see Peters pardoned. Because the conviction was at the state level, though, President Trump had no power to issue a pardon. Despite this, to show his solidarity with her cause, in December 2025 he issued a symbolic pardon of Peters.
The clamor continued to see Peters freed and finally reached critical mass. On Friday, CO Gov. Jared Polis (D) announced that he had commuted Peters sentence, in part because he felt her free speech rights had been violated.
🚨 BREAKING: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has now CONFIRMED he has commuted Tina Peters’ sentence, saying he believes the election whistleblower’s free speech rights were violated
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 15, 2026
Polis says the judge “held her speech against her.”
Peters will OFFICIALLY be free in just a couple… https://t.co/sX7GjhXplE pic.twitter.com/qxtbqSqltU
BREAKING: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has now CONFIRMED he has commuted Tina Peters’ sentence, saying he believes the election whistleblower’s free speech rights were violated
Polis says the judge “held her speech against her.”
Peters will OFFICIALLY be free in just a couple weeks, with a release date of June 1.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday announced he is commuting the sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was facing more than eight years in state prison for allowing unauthorized access to voting machines following the 2020 presidential election.
Polis' decision — which was swiftly condemned by other Colorado Democrats — follows months of pressure from President Trump to release Peters, who has promoted Mr. Trump's false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. The president had threatened "harsh measures" if Colorado did not free Peters from prison.
— Tina Peters🇺🇸 Whistleblower of fallen Navy SEAL (@realtinapeters) May 15, 2026
Wannabe CO governor, Senator Michael Bennet (D), expressed his displeasure.
I vehemently disagree with Gov. Polis’s decision to commute Tina Peters’ sentence. She broke the law, undermined our elections, and was convicted by a jury of her peers.
— Michael Bennet (@MichaelBennet) May 15, 2026
With Trump continuing to attack Colorado, we must stand strong for our institutions and the rule of law. https://t.co/iUeA8Cr3q9
As did former CO governor and Senator John Hickenlooper.
Tina Peters is guilty as sin and a disgrace to Colorado.
— Senator John Hickenlooper (@SenatorHick) May 15, 2026
She tried to undermine Colorado’s free and fair election system. When she was caught red-handed, she was prosecuted by a Republican district attorney and rightfully convicted by a jury of her peers.
Reducing her… https://t.co/EUhu1LT6Pw
Tina Peters is guilty as sin and a disgrace to Colorado.
She tried to undermine Colorado’s free and fair election system. When she was caught red-handed, she was prosecuted by a Republican district attorney and rightfully convicted by a jury of her peers.
Reducing her sentence sends the wrong message to those seeking to undermine trust in our elections and it will do nothing to deter Donald Trump’s illegal attacks on Colorado. I strongly disagree with this decision.
As RedState reported, Peters was convicted for election interference and undue influence of a public official, and sentenced to nine years in prison. The 70-year-old Peters is a Gold Star mom and was in failing health, which was only exacerbated by the harsh conditions she was subjected to in prison. Peters' attorneys attempted to have her sentence reviewed, but their appeals were rejected. However, the prosecution and conviction of 68-year-old CO state Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis (D) on comparable charges as Peters, raised eyebrows and demanded scrutiny. In comparison to Peters' harsh sentence, Jaquez Lewis was sentenced to two years of supervised probation, 150 hours of community service, and a fine.
In light of the sentencing of Jaquez Lewis, Gov. Polis committed to review Peters conviction and sentencing, but he did not give a timeframe on when this might be done. It appears that time was not long. On Friday, Polis issued a press release announcing pardons and commutations for 44 people. Tina Peters name was among them, with a designated release date of June 1, 2026.
President Donald Trump's post to Truth Social was short and sweet.
Peters wrote a statement to her X account, thanking the governor.
Thank you Governor Polis.
— Tina Peters🇺🇸 Whistleblower of fallen Navy SEAL (@realtinapeters) May 15, 2026
I made mistakes, and for those I am sorry. Five years ago I misled the Secretary of State when allowing a person to gain access to county voting equipment. That was wrong. I have learned and grown during my time in prison and going forward I will make…
Thank you Governor Polis.
I made mistakes, and for those I am sorry. Five years ago I misled the Secretary of State when allowing a person to gain access to county voting equipment. That was wrong. I have learned and grown during my time in prison and going forward I will make sure that my actions always follow the law, and I will avoid the mistakes of the past.
I strongly condemned it when people not connected to me threatened to storm the prison I am in. I myself have faced threats, so, I also want to be clear that I condemn any and all bullying, threats and acts of violence against voters, county clerks, election workers, and other public officials, and concerned citizens like myself.
Upon release, I plan to do my best through legal means to support election integrity and based on my own personal experiences to elevate the cause of prison reform to help ensure the detention system is more fair and equitable for people of all ages. My experiences have given me a perspective that plan to share with others to improve Colorado’s corrections system. I am grateful for a second chance and an earlier release, and I look forward to doing good in the world.
Peters will be released from prison effective on June 1.
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