The Tina Peters case shows the influence of election denial rhetoric

MESA COUNTY, Colo. — As the country prepares for the 2024 presidential election, there are still remnants of the rhetoric used after the 2020 results.

There are conspiracies surrounding election integrity across the country. In Colorado, former Mesa County official Tina Peters has become a poster girl for spreading such falsehoods.

Peters was convicted in August of first-degree official misconduct, dereliction of duty, failure to comply with Secretary of State requirements, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation and three counts of attempted influence on a public servant. On Thursday, Colorado District Judge Matthew Barrett sentenced her to nine years in prison.

Peters was acquitted of charges of identity theft, criminal impersonation and conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation.

In court Thursday, Peters told the judge she was “very amazed at how horribly I was portrayed when I was just trying to do my job.” In turn, Judge Barrett said Peters was “as defiant of a defendant as this.” Court has never seen it before”.

“They have no respect for the checks and balances of government. You have no respect for this court. “You have no respect for law enforcement and you had no respect for your colleagues when you served as a clerk and recorder and were out of step in your beliefs,” Judge Barrett said.

Judge Barrett said Peters’ belief in her own echo chamber led her to manipulate election systems.

“This thought process, unfortunately, seems to engage so many in our country, regardless of race, gender, political affiliation, or the like, that what we hear and think cannot possibly be wrong,” Judge Barrett said.

One of the people who spoke in court Thursday was Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association. He described the courtroom as surreal, tense and angry.

“She undermined the security of her own office. She brought someone into the office with credentials that were not her own. She turned off her cameras on her voting area, which had been on continuously for ten years. “They allowed the image of their election software to leak into the public where bad actors can investigate, look for vulnerabilities and do nefarious things if they actually get physical access to the components,” Crane said. “I don’t think people realize” how serious the nature of their crimes really is.

Watch the verdict in the video player below:

“You are a charlatan”: Judge sentences defiant Tina Peters to 9 years | Full video

While speaking in court, Crane explained how Colorado laws have changed because of Peters.

“Prior to this, there was no protection in the law for employees who negligently discharged their duties, as Tina did. We have since adjusted the law here in Colorado so that if you are not certified within six months, you can be removed as a designated election official in your jurisdiction,” Crane explained.

For Crane, Thursday was a good day – a day when justice was served – but the impact of Peters’ actions is far from over.

“Officials will come to their office every day and will be committed to rebuilding this,” Crane said, speaking of the trust they want to restore to Colorado voters. “We have to move slowly and methodically, but incredibly persistently, to get this done. We want to bring the truth to light and engage aggressively in the public space, something we never did before.”

According to Crane, former President Donald Trump’s national rhetoric had “everything” to do with the Peters case.

“Take an employee who doesn’t really know her job, she didn’t really study, she didn’t get the certification that she should have gotten, she missed out on training that she could have used. So she didn’t know what to do or how her systems worked,” Crane said. “When you hear the president of the United States or your party say, ‘Oh, these machines are crooked,'” Crane said. Instead of doing what she should have done and learning her job and what their systems really do, she went down this other path of illegal activity that ultimately led to her facing the next nine years in prison. “

Crane said there is no question that this case revolves around the 2020 presidential election.

“I think she was looking for fame and fortune and trying to be the one who could prove the fraud,” Crane said. “What she discovered was that justice would prevail and, unfortunately for her, she faces a lengthy prison sentence.”

Crane believes that local and national denial of the 2020 election results has many unintended consequences.

“There’s no question – some voters have simply stopped voting because they think everything is rigged. And if it’s rigged, why should they vote?” Crane explained. “It happened all over the country. This also happened here in Colorado. We still have people in Colorado who believe in what Tina Peters did and think what she did is right. They will not listen to the subject matter expert in their own country. And that creates a hostile environment. Death threats arise and then people go on wild chases.”

Crane said hostility toward poll workers has, in many cases, created a dangerous environment. Still, employees across Colorado are determined to regain the trust of their communities, he said.

“Elections are never perfect, but that doesn’t mean we don’t strive for perfection,” Crane said. “But if you have questions, come to your clerk and recorder’s office, ask questions, but be prepared to listen to the truth.” “