Colorado Appeals Court Resentences Ex-Clerk in Election Tampering Case

A Colorado appeals court has overturned the nine-year prison sentence given to Tina Peters, requiring the former county clerk to be resentenced. Her conviction for tampering with voting machines stands.

The panel's ruling emphasized that her sentence was improperly influenced by her claims of election fraud, which are protected speech. The panel ordered the lower court to resentence her accordingly.

Despite upholding the conviction, the appeals panel criticized the trial judge for focusing on Peters’ beliefs instead of the actions leading to her conviction. Peters had been indicted following an election security breach in which voting equipment passwords were leaked.