The Colorado Democratic Party censured Gov. Jared Polis late Wednesday for shortening the prison sentence of former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters, who was convicted on felony charges related to unauthorized access to voting equipment.
Colorado Democrats said the governor’s decision “materially harmed the Colorado Democratic Party’s institutional credibility and efforts to defend democratic institutions and election integrity.” Peters was convicted in 2024 of state charges including assisting in the breach of election equipment after allowing an associate of Mike Lindell access to Mesa County voting systems. The state spent nearly one million dollars to replace the compromised equipment. This censure follows an April 2026 Colorado Court of Appeals decision that vacated Peters’ original nine-year sentence on First Amendment grounds while upholding her convictions and ordering resentencing.
