Tina Peters, the former Mesa County, Colorado, clerk, is preparing to take her case to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to her attorney. Her seven criminal convictions remain in place after Colorado's courts turned her down. 12
Peters was convicted in August 2024 on seven counts tied to a 2021 breach of Mesa County's election equipment. Prosecutors said she helped an unauthorized person get into the county's voting equipment during a software update. 12
What her lawyer says
Her attorney, Peter Ticktin, told FOX31 Denver that Peters was trying to preserve election data that could have been lost in the update, as federal records law required. He argues federal law should override state restrictions. That argument has not been accepted as a legal defense in her case. 1
He also contends she did not get a fair trial. On timing, he said: “We have until December to file our briefs and we're working on them now.” 1 The Supreme Court is not required to take the case. If it declines, the convictions stand. 1
What happened in Colorado
The Colorado Court of Appeals found her sentence was improperly influenced, in part, by her protected speech. It ordered further sentencing proceedings. The Colorado Supreme Court then declined to review her appeal. 1
Peters had been sentenced to nine years in prison. On May 15, 2026, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis commuted that sentence, and she was set for release June 1. 3 Commuting a sentence shortens it. It does not erase a conviction. 1
Polis called the sentence “an extremely unusual and lengthy sentence for a first time offender who committed nonviolent crimes.” 3 Other Democrats objected. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said “selling out our state's justice system for Trump is an affront to the rule of law.” 3 President Donald Trump had posted “FREE TINA!” 3
Because her crimes were state crimes, she is outside the reach of the presidential pardon power Trump used for federal Jan. 6 cases, the Associated Press reported. 3
The other side
Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, believes the jury got it right. He said Mesa County had already backed up the records required under state and federal law. 12
What the jury got right is that she broke the law. She didn't need to do what she did.
Crane also said he finds it hard to imagine the Supreme Court overturning the conviction. He warned that doing so would put a target on election officials. 1
What happens next
Ticktin has not yet filed the petition, according to his own timeline of December. 1 If the justices take the case, they could uphold the convictions, reverse them or send the case back. Taking the case would not by itself overturn anything. 1
That matters because the case tests whether a claim of protecting election data can excuse breaking state rules on voting equipment. The jury rejected that idea, and Colorado's appeals courts left the convictions in place. 12 Election officials in both parties are watching for what a ruling could mean for their own security rules. 1
The Record
Sources
- Yahoo News, “Tina Peters plans U.S. Supreme Court bid while convictions are upheld in Colorado” (2026-10-26). yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/tina-peters-plans-u-supreme
- Rocky Mountain Voice, “Tina Peters takes her fight to the U.S. Supreme Court as 7 convictions stand” (2026-10-26). rockymountainvoice.com/2026/10/26/tina-peters-takes-her-figh
- AP via WTOP, “Colorado's Democratic governor commutes ex-election clerk Tina Peters' sentence after Trump pressure” (2026-05-15). wtop.com/national/2026/05/colorado-governor-commutes-sentenc
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