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Judge Barrett refuses to step aside in Peters case, defends sentencing math
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Judge Barrett refuses to step aside in Peters case, defends sentencing math

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Judge Matthew Barrett denied Tina Peters' motion to disqualify him on Monday afternoon. In a 16-page order, he accepted every factual claim in the defense affidavits as true, then concluded none of them meet the legal standard for recusal. In a footnote on page 15, he answered the math the defense had used to challenge his letter to the governor. Barrett's order, filed at 3:37 p.m., clears the procedural condition he had cited as the reason he could not rule on Peters' renewed motion for bond pending appeal.  The bond question now sits on his desk under the 48-hour window Colorado Appellate Rule 9(b) sets for ruling on bond pending appeal. The defense's reply on that motion, filed late Sunday night, set up the dispute that follows—a fa...
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Peters’ defense says Barrett used facts that were never in evidence
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Peters’ defense says Barrett used facts that were never in evidence

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The state said Judge Matthew Barrett's sentencing remarks about Tina Peters were harsh words from the bench, not evidence of bias. Peters' legal team answered with a different question: how did the judge know she appeared on podcasts? Where did he get the words "snake oil" and "junk"? The state's response did not touch that argument. The judge being asked to step aside will decide it. Three filings hit the Mesa County docket between late Thursday and Friday morning. District Attorney Dan Rubinstein's office opposed Peters' motion to disqualify Barrett. Her attorneys replied by introducing a theory the state never touched—that Barrett's sentencing comments relied on an "extrajudicial source," meaning information the judge obtained from out...
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Before Peters is resentenced, Barrett must decide whether he keeps the case
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Before Peters is resentenced, Barrett must decide whether he keeps the case

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A Mesa County judge has ordered the state’s attorneys to respond to a motion seeking his removal from the Tina Peters case, setting up a legal fight that will determine who presides over her resentencing—and who decides whether she remains in prison while that process unfolds. In an April 22 order, District Court Judge Matthew Barrett directed the state to file a response “as soon as practicable,” with a deadline of April 27. The order does not resolve the issue. It moves it forward. Now the court must decide whether Barrett can remain on the case—and nothing else in district court moves until that question is answered. 2026-0422 ACTION TAKEN_VERIFIED MOTION TO DISQUALIFY JUDGE MATTHEW BARRETT - People Respond by 4-27Download ...
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Tina Peters convictions upheld, sentence thrown out and case sent back to Mesa County court
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Tina Peters convictions upheld, sentence thrown out and case sent back to Mesa County court

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Tina Peters remains convicted—but the case that made her a national figure isn’t over. A Colorado appeals court upheld every conviction against the former Mesa County clerk Thursday, while also throwing out her sentence and ordering resentencing after finding the trial judge improperly weighed her speech about election fraud. The court laid it out over 78 pages—and shut down almost every major argument Peters brought forward. Judges rejected her claim that a presidential pardon could wipe out state convictions. They also rejected her argument that she was acting under federal authority. The convictions stayed. But the sentence didn’t. The ruling leaves Peters’ criminal convictions fully intact while reopening one of the m...
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Federal order puts Colorado’s mail ballot system on a collision course
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Federal order puts Colorado’s mail ballot system on a collision course

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The way Colorado runs elections hasn’t changed—but a new federal order could force it to. The order would have federal agencies assemble a nationwide list of verified U.S. citizens and share it with state election officials. States could then choose to send their own voter lists to the U.S. Postal Service about 60 days before an election. If they do, ballots would be limited to the names on those lists. In Colorado, that framework could fundamentally change how elections work. Colorado’s system leaves very little room to miss your chance. Ballots go out to every active voter—even those who register just days before Election Day. And for anyone who doesn’t, same-day registration still allows them to walk in and vote right up until po...
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Tina Peters Cleared In Prison Assault Case After January Scuffle
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Colorado Public Radio, Approved, State

Tina Peters Cleared In Prison Assault Case After January Scuffle

By Ava Kian | CPR News Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who is currently serving a nine-year sentence for her role in tampering with Mesa County’s election equipment in search of election fraud, was found not guilty of assault after shoving another inmate last January in state prison. She was found guilty for the lesser charge of “unauthorized absence” after being in a restricted area where she was not assigned, Corrections Department spokeswoman Alondra Gonzalez-Garcia said. It’s not a criminal charge, but instead an internal process used to address behavior. Gonzalez-Garcia said the determination was after reviewing evidence, including video footage, medical anatomical forms for both inmates involved, and witness testimony. One of Peter’s attorn...
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Colorado Must Reconsider the Imprisonment of Tina Peters
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado Must Reconsider the Imprisonment of Tina Peters

By Rep. Ken DeGraaf | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The case of former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters has become one of the most controversial legal and political episodes in modern Colorado election administration. But stripped of partisan rhetoric and competing narratives, the core issue before the public is far simpler—and far more troubling. Should an election official who believed she was preserving federally required election records spend years in prison for a disputed administrative decision? That question deserves serious reflection from every Coloradan, regardless of political affiliation. Public confidence in elections depends not only on accurate vote counts but on transparency in the systems that produce those results. When officials believ...
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All 66 Colorado Democrat Lawmakers Press Polis To Reject Clemency For Tina Peters
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

All 66 Colorado Democrat Lawmakers Press Polis To Reject Clemency For Tina Peters

By: Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun The letter warned that clemency would be a gift to conspiracy theorists and risks undermining the safety of future elections. All 66 Democrats in the Colorado legislature signed onto a letter Wednesday urging Gov. Jared Polis not to reduce the prison sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, a missive that escalates the party’s near-universal disapproval of Polis’ posture toward the case.  “This is about the security and assuredness of our elections,” the letter said. “This is about the future of our democracy, and of free and fair elections in our nation. We ask you to stand with us in safeguarding the future.” The letter says that clemency is “for those who have taken accountability for their crimes, understand ...
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Democrat Backed Redistricting Plan Could Flip Three Colorado GOP House Seats
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Uncategorized, Approved, Colorado Politics, State

Democrat Backed Redistricting Plan Could Flip Three Colorado GOP House Seats

By Michael Braithwaite | Colorado Politics A Democrat-backed proposal to redraw Colorado’s congressional map for the 2028 election could flip three Republican districts. The proposal, introduced by a group called Coloradans for a Level Playing Field, is yet another development in a national redistricting debate after President Donald Trump called to redraw U.S. House districts. An analysis of the proposal in Colorado shows that the redrawn map could lead to flipping three Republican house seats to the Democrats’ column in the 2028 election, including in District 5, which has never voted for a Democratic representative in its long history, according to composite election data. Colorado’s 2021 congressional district map (left) compared to Coloradans for a Leve...
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Nine-year sentence questioned: Peters’ attorneys cite contrast with Lewis case
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Nine-year sentence questioned: Peters’ attorneys cite contrast with Lewis case

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Tina Peters’ attorneys said Wednesday they appreciate Gov. Jared Polis taking a look at her clemency request, pointing to what they believe is a sentencing disparity. Peters’ attorneys shared the statement with RMV after Polis posted about the case of former state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis while talking about clemency. They said that contrast between Lewis’ and Peters’ case is central to their clemency request. “Tina Peters is grateful to Governor Polis for considering her request for clemency,” the statement said. The defense team also echoed a comment Polis made in a recent social media post about fairness in the justice system. “As the governor said, Justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly,...
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