Democratic Gov. Says He’s ‘Considering’ Clemency for Pro-Trump Official Convicted of Election Breach

Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) said that in his last stretch in office he is considering clemency for Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk who was jailed over an unauthorized breach of voting systems when seeking to validate President Donald Trump’s claims of fraud in the 2020 election.

Peters, 70, was convicted last year on state charges after participating in the 2021 breach and is serving a nine-year sentence in a Pueblo women’s prison.

In an interview with CBS Colorado on Thursday, Polis told journalists he was weighing clemency and described the prison sentence handed to Peters as “harsh” and implied he was reviewing her case alongside others involving elderly inmates.

“She got a sentence that was harsh. It was a nine-year sentence,” Polis said. “We always look at people’s sentences, and when you have people that are elderly, and we’re looking at this across a number of people – people in their 70s and 80s in our system – how much of a threat to society are they? And we balance that in a way that makes sure that they can spend their last few years at home.”

The campaign for Peters’ release has been championed consistently at the highest level by President Donald Trump, who, in December, branded Polis a “SLEAZEBAG” for refusing to free her. Trump argued Peters was an “elderly woman” and “cancer survivor” persecuted by Democrats – her age now a factor that Polis has hitched his considerations to.

Trump previously attempted to intervene in Peters’ case, even issuing a pardon last year, but because Peters was convicted under state law, it carried no legal weight. Trump later blocked federal funding to Colorado, escalating tensions with the Democratic governor.

Under Colorado Department of Corrections rules, Peters could be eligible for community corrections or early parole within the next two years, even without gubernatorial action.

Her lawyer Peter Ticktin said a pardon request is already before the governor and welcomed Polis’s remarks.

Watch above via CBS Colorado.