Griswold, county clerks urge Polis to reject clemency for Tina Peters ahead of appellate arguments

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice

With Peters’ appeal heading into oral arguments, Griswold and the Colorado County Clerks Association put it in writing for Gov. Jared Polis: don’t step in.

The Jan. 13 letter carries three signatures: Griswold’s, Jackson County Clerk & Recorder Hayle Johnson’s and Colorado County Clerks Association executive director Matt Crane’s.

In it, the group asks Polis not to grant clemency, warning that doing so would have consequences beyond Peters’ case.

“In 2021, then-Clerk Tina Peters coordinated the breach of her own election equipment in the nation’s first public elections insider threat,” the letter states, asserting that her conduct placed the security of Mesa County elections and public confidence in democracy at risk. The authors further argue that clemency would validate similar conduct in the future.

Griswold made the letter public on Jan. 14, with oral arguments just hours away in Peters’ appeal.

Peters was convicted in Oct. 2024 and taken into custody as the trial ended.

She’s been behind bars ever since—close to 15 months now—serving a nine-year sentence.

Her attorneys are appealing both the conviction and the sentence, arguing the case should’ve ended long before it reached a jury.

RMV has previously reported on a series of election-related disputes involving Griswold’s office, including litigation over election system security, legislative scrutiny of administrative decisions and conflicts between state officials and county clerks over local investigations. 

All of it has played out against the backdrop of the Peters case, which has continued to surface well outside Mesa County.

Over the past few months, the appeal has taken a turn. Instead of focusing only on trial rulings, the court is now being asked a more basic question: does it even have the authority to keep going?

Peters’ legal team has asked the Court of Appeals to determine whether it retains jurisdiction in light of a presidential pardon and claims of Supremacy Clause immunity tied to federal election record-preservation laws. 

The state, through the Attorney General’s office, has rejected those arguments, asserting that the pardon does not apply to state convictions and that immunity claims do not deprive the court of jurisdiction.

Federal courts have declined to intervene while the state appeal remains pending, but judges have acknowledged that Peters raises significant constitutional questions. 

At the same time, filings show that federal authorities previously expressed concerns about Peters’ continued confinement, even as custody remained with the state. None of those constitutional issues have been resolved on the merits.

Polis has not announced a decision regarding any potential pardon or commutation in the Peters case. Polis has talked openly about considering clemency now in interviews recently, saying Peters’ nine-year sentence is harsh and that each case is weighed on its own.

RMV will livestream the oral arguments with court permission, and they begin at 2:30 pm.

The livestream can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Ez1BW6oYA&list=PLkEZALEt5if4v_URibWGrwmV595tvHeP_&index=1

The letter asks Polis not to step in while the appeal is still pending and warns that a clemency decision would reach beyond Peters’ case.

With the court weighing whether it has authority to proceed and the governor considering whether to act, today’s arguments come at a pivotal point in the case.