(The Center Square) – Colorado Democrats voted to censure Gov. Jared Polis this week after he provided clemency to Tina Peters, a former Mesa County clerk.
Peters has been in prison since October 2024 after she was found guilty in 2021 of breaching her own election equipment. Peters’ original sentence had her behind bars for nine years. With the clemency, Peters will get out of prison on June 1.
Peters thanked Polis on social media after he granted her clemency last week. She said she has “made mistakes” and apologized for them.
“Five years ago I misled the Secretary of State when allowing a person to gain access to county voting equipment. That was wrong,” Peters said.
“I have learned and grown during my time in prison and going forward I will make sure that my actions always follow the law, and I will avoid the mistakes of the past,” she added.
Nearly 680 state Democrats who are current lawmakers, former office holders and candidates signed onto the petition asking the state Democratic Party to issue a “formal censure and condemnation of Governor Polis’ clemency decision regarding Tina Peters.”
The petition did not challenge the governor’s authority to issue clemency to people but rather suspends Polis from being an “honored guest, featured speaker or officially recognized participant at Colorado Democratic Party-sponsored events and functions.”
Polis “engaged in ‘conduct detrimental to the interests of the Colorado Democratic Party,’” the petition said.
Eric Maruyama, a spokesperson for Polis, told The Center Square by email that “the governor made this decision based on the facts of the case and what he believed was the right thing to do.”
“Sometimes the right thing isn’t the popular thing with everybody. Democracy is strongest when disagreement is met with debate and dialogue, not censorship,” he added.
In reaction to Peters’ clemency, state Senate Minority Leader Cleave Simpson, R-Durango, told The Center Square via email that “Peters release marks another development in a case that has raised important questions about government transparency, election integrity and equal treatment under the law.”
“As Republicans, we support the rule of law, due process and accountability. We recognize that many Americans remain concerned about election trust and government response. Listening to these concerns is essential,” Simpson noted.
“Our state and nation are strongest when we engage in honest debate, uphold constitutional principles and treat each other with fairness and respect, even during disagreement,” he added.
Eric Grossman, the acting chairman for the Colorado GOP, told The Center Square by email that the Colorado Democrats’ decision to censure Polis “demonstrates the rabid culture [American] society is currently in.”
“The left wing believes its enemy should either die in jail, or be killed by an assassin’s bullet,” Grossman said.
“This censure only adds to the insanity the left can’t walk their base back from,” he added. “History will judge Polis as righting a sentence that went too far, regardless of innocence or guilt.”
According to Peters, when she gets out of prison, she plans to “support election integrity and … elevate the cause of prison reform to help ensure the detention system is more fair and equitable for people of all ages.”
“I am grateful for a second chance and an earlier release, and I look forward to doing good in the world,” she said.
The Center Square reached out to the Colorado Democratic Party, but did not hear back before press time.
