Former Secretary Tina Peters has become a cause célèbre for the election denial movement and for President Donald Trump.
Published April 2, 2026
A Colorado state appeals court has ordered the resentencing of Tina Peters, a former county clerk convicted for her role in an election meddling scheme in the United States.
The court on Thursday overturned Peters' nine-year prison sentence, but not his conviction for helping to tamper with voting machines after the 2020 presidential race.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
His case has become a cause célèbre for President Donald Trump and the election denial movement, after it emerged that he was seeking evidence to support Trump's false claim that his 2020 loss was due to massive fraud.
In Thursday's decision, the three-judge appeals panel ruled that a lower court had considered Peters' personal beliefs when deciding on a punishment, making the sentence inappropriate.
“The trial court's comments regarding Peters' belief in the existence of 2020 election fraud went beyond considerations relevant to his sentencing,” the appeals court wrote.
The panel cited comments from Justice Matthew Barrett, who criticized Peters as a “charlatan” who promotes “snake oil” claims.
“His crime was not his belief, however mistaken the trial court's decision, in the existence of such election fraud,” the appeals court said. “It was his deceptive actions in his attempt to gather evidence of such fraud.”
Peters was convicted in August 2024 of helping someone outside the government gain access to Mesa County's election system and make copies.
That person was affiliated with efforts to overturn Trump's 2020 loss, and copies he obtained were shared on social media.
False claims that the 2020 election was marred by massive fraud have been a persistent obsession for Trump and his allies, even after his successful re-election in 2024.
Trump's efforts to remain in office after his 2020 loss were the subject of a 2023 criminal indictment brought by former special counsel Jack Smith.
He alleged that Trump led a criminal conspiracy to undermine the electoral process and rally his supporters to overturn the results. However, those charges were eventually dropped when Trump took office again in 2025, as the US Department of Justice has a policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
Since his inauguration, Trump has continued to push claims that he won the 2020 race. He has also used his allegations of fraud to demand greater control over the country's election infrastructure ahead of the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.
In December, the president pardoned Peters, even though he was not in federal custody, and the presidential pardon power does not extend to state crimes.
The appeals court panel confirmed Thursday that Trump's pardon had no impact on state crimes.
“We have not found any case in which the presidential pardon power has been extended in such a way as to encroach on the sovereignty of an individual state,” the panel said.
The state's governor, Jared Polis, suggested last month that he might consider granting clemency to Peters.
