Colorado Democrats Censure Polis in 89.8% Vote Over Tina Peters' 9-Year Sentence Cut
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · May 21
Colorado Democrats Censure Polis in 89.8% Vote Over Tina Peters' 9-Year Sentence Cut
17 articles · Updated · CBS New York · May 21
89.8% of the Colorado Democratic Party's central committee backed a censure of Gov. Jared Polis, temporarily barring him from speaking at or participating in party-sponsored events.
The rebuke followed Polis' decision to halve former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters' nearly 9-year sentence for election-equipment tampering, a move that could make her eligible for parole on June 1.
Polis defended the commutation as a data-driven correction to an unusually harsh punishment, saying comparable public-corruption cases often drew probation or about 6 months and that Peters' speech was weighed too heavily at sentencing.
Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubenstein rejected that argument, calling Peters' conduct a months-long breach of election security, noting she could have faced 20 years and that even Polis' clemency board opposed commutation.
The clash has deepened a party rift over how Democrats should handle election-denial cases, with petitioners saying Polis undercut the party's democracy mission while he argues justice should not be partisan.
Can justice be blind when a defendant's controversial beliefs are central to their crime?
What justifies a leader's decision against the advice of nearly all their political allies?
Colorado Democratic Party Censures Governor Polis After Tina Peters Commutation, Deepening Party Divisions and Raising Election Integrity Concerns
Overview
In May 2026, Colorado Governor Jared Polis commuted the prison sentence of Tina Peters, who was convicted in 2024 for tampering with voting machines as part of efforts to support unproven claims of election rigging after the 2020 election. This decision allowed Peters to be released on parole after serving less than two years. The commutation was highly unpopular among Democrats and election officials, leading the Colorado Democratic Party to formally censure Governor Polis. Despite the backlash, Polis defended his decision by focusing on the facts of the case rather than public or political pressure, deepening divisions within his party.