Former Republican election worker sentenced to nine years in prison for voter interference | US voting rights

A local election official who became a hero to election deniers was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison for leading a scheme to breach the voting system's data that relied on widespread false claims that fraud changed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Tina Peters allowed a man linked to pillow salesman and election lie dealer Mike Lindell to misuse a security card to gain access to Mesa County's voting system.

Jurors found Peters guilty in August. She was convicted of seven counts of misconduct, conspiracy and identity fraud, four of which were felonies.

Judge Matthew Barrett sentenced her Thursday. Peters had spoken out in favor of probation. Barrett said at the sentencing that it was clear that Peters had shown no remorse for her actions.

“I have no doubt you would do it again if you could,” Barrett said, according to Colorado Public Radio. “You are as defiant a defendant as this court has ever seen.”

At trial, prosecutors said Peters, a Republican, was seeking fame and was “fixated” on election issues after becoming involved with those who questioned the accuracy of the presidential election results.

Peters was charged with allowing access to the county's voting machines to an outside person who had obtained security credentials under a different name. Materials and passwords were then published online on Telegram and on the right-wing channel Gateway Pundit, which is also facing defamation charges over election-related lies.

Peters' actions came as conspiracies surrounding vote tabulation machines, particularly those made by Dominion Voting Systems, were growing. Dominion has fought the lies spread about its machines and secured major compensation from Fox for its false claims on the subject.

This anti-machine sentiment is still at play on the right in the 2024 election – with some pushing for a hand count of all ballots rather than a machine count.

Peters illustrates the kind of insider threat to elections that officials fear — people who work in elections themselves could upend systems from within. Pro-democracy groups praised Thursday's conviction, saying it should send a message to those who try to undermine elections that there are consequences.

“It’s good that she’s being held accountable,” said Nick Penniman, CEO and founder of Issue One, a cross-party democracy group. “Today’s sentencing should send a message to other would-be saboteurs that messing with the American election is not a game and that law enforcement is watching.”

Peters' actions in Mesa County were both financially and reputationally damaging. County officials say they are now being linked to that violation and election denial. A county commissioner estimated the financial impact on county taxpayers at $1.4 million, Colorado Public Radio reported, including for Peters' salary and recounts.

The county clerk position was the first that Peters held, starting in 2018. She ran unsuccessfully for the state's top elected post, secretary of state, in 2022.