Former Mesa County clerk sentenced to 9 years for 2020 voting system breach

Tina Peters, a former county clerk for Mesa County, Colo., was sentenced to nine years in prison after being convicted earlier this year on seven felony counts for facilitating a data breach involving voting system data in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.

The incident is widely viewed as one of the most serious breaches of election systems in modern history, illustrating how false election fraud claims, fueled  by then-President Donald Trump in 2020 led allies to cross serious legal boundaries  in an effort to validate their beliefs.  

The information stolen by Peters and her allies was later posted online. The leaked data did not reveal instances of fraud or vote-flipping by software. County officials reiterated at the sentencing that a manual recount of ballots, along with multiple audits found “no material difference” in the vote counts the county reported in 2020.

Peters spoke for 45 minutes, at times attempting to relitigate the case, maintaining her innocence and portraying herself as the true victim. In handing out the sentence, Judge Matthew Barrett excoriated Peters for the collective harm her crimes had caused to Mesa County, as well as her lack of remorse, calling her a “charlatan.”

“I’m convinced you’d do it all over again,” Barrett said.

Peters’ lawyers, who were pushing for the court to consider a sentence of time served, indicated at the hearing that they intend to appeal the sentence.

Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis estimated that the costs the county incurred from Peters’ crimes totaled more than $1.4 million, including legal costs and the salary that Peters continued to draw for 16 months after the incident despite “being absent from her duties.”

Davis said the county commission had to take over as “de facto” county recorder and hire outside staff to conduct Peters’ duties while she fundraised across the country, in some cases needing a court order to compel her to return for routine administrative matters like approving contracts. He also cited costs for putting employees on paid leave due to constant harassment by Peters and her supporters.

“Resources that could have gone to public infrastructure, building roads, filling potholes, hiring caseworkers or hiring new sheriff’s officers are now diverted to this case or to backfilling the responsibilities that Ms. Peters had,” Davis said.

Beyond the calculable costs, Davis bemoaned the damage that Peters’ crimes have done to the reputation of Mesa County and the pride of local residents.

“Her behavior has made this county a national laughingstock,” he added.

Gerald Wood, a resident who was initially skeptical of the 2020 results, was given a security badge by Peters that allowed entry to Mesa County’s election facilities. Before he could ever use it, Peters and her associates reclaimed the badge, then turned cameras off at the facility and used it to enter and copy voting system software.

At the sentencing, Wood said Peters has “never, not once” demonstrated remorse, adding that  her actions brought him and his family national infamy and put them in the crosshairs of federal law enforcement.

“When I was approached … about helping them preserve records, I operated in good faith,” he said. “But in return, they — in league with others — lied to me, stole my identity and committed crimes in my name.”

Wood, who said he now works in software security, said Peters’ use of his identity has placed his current employment and business reputation at risk. He also relayed the humiliation of having to stand before his church congregation to explain his innocence when the breach was first revealed.

Despite claiming to stand for free and fair elections, Wood said Peters has “done more damage to election integrity here in Mesa County and across the nation than anyone else could.”

“They have conducted a scorched-earth campaign in county after county with their grifting claims of proof of election fraud, using smoke and mirrors to present partial truths and tidbits of information, all to increase their own fame and fortune,” he said.