Tina Peters (David Zalubowski/AP)
Former Mesa County, Colorado, clerk Tina Peters’ legal battle is continuing after her June release from prison, with her attorney preparing to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn her criminal convictions stemming from a 2021 breach of county election equipment, Nexstar’s KDVR reported.
Attorney Peter Ticktin said his legal team is working toward a December filing deadline after the Colorado Supreme Court declined to review Peters’ appeal.
Peters was convicted in August 2024 on seven criminal counts related to the breach, in which prosecutors said she helped an unauthorized person gain access to Mesa County’s voting equipment during a software update.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, later commuted her prison sentence, but the convictions remain in place.
Ticktin argues that Peters was trying to preserve election records she believed could be lost during the software update and was acting to comply with federal election-record retention requirements.
“She’s an innocent woman who was doing her duty to America, and she was punished severely for that,” Ticktin told KDVR.
Ticktin contends that federal law should have taken precedence over state restrictions governing access to election equipment.
“If you have to do something to make sure that you abide by a federal statute, even if it violates a state statute, you’re allowed to do that,” he said.
That legal interpretation has not been accepted as a defense to Peters’ convictions. Ticktin also maintains that she did not receive a fair trial and was prevented from fully presenting her defense to jurors.
“We have until December to file our briefs and we’re working on them now,” Ticktin said in a follow-up statement.
He said he hopes to overturn the convictions and clear Peters’ criminal record.
Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, disputed the argument that Peters needed to take extraordinary measures to preserve election records. He said election employees had already backed up the records required under state and federal law.
“What the jury got right is that she broke the law. She didn’t need to do what she did,” Crane told KDVR.
Crane said election officials have established procedures for preserving records and protecting voting equipment, arguing that Peters’ actions went beyond what was necessary to fulfill her responsibilities as county clerk.
“Election integrity does not require you to break the law,” he said.
Peters’ case has already undergone appellate review. The Colorado Court of Appeals upheld her convictions but ordered resentencing after finding that her sentence had been improperly influenced, in part, by her protected speech.
Polis subsequently commuted her prison sentence. Crane criticized the governor’s intervention, saying he believed the state’s judicial process should have continued.
If the high court justices decline to hear the case, the convictions would remain in place. If they accept it, they could ultimately uphold the convictions, reverse them or return the case to a lower court for further proceedings.
The dispute has also renewed debate over election security, the responsibilities of local election officials and public confidence in voting systems.
Ticktin maintains that Peters was trying to protect election records and argues that her prosecution raises questions about how election officials should respond when they believe records are at risk.
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