ACTION ALERT!
Governor Polis recently characterized former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ sentence, handed down by a Mesa County jury, as 'harsh', compared it to the sentence of another elected official, and indicated that he will be reviewing it for possible commutation.
The League of Women Voters of Colorado (LWVCO) believes unequivocally in representative government and in the fundamental liberties enshrined in the United States Constitution. With that conviction, we believe that Gov. Polis should respect Colorado’s judicial process by upholding accountability for a rogue official who was unanimously convicted by a jury of her peers and who is now rightfully serving her sentence in a state correctional facility.
In a recent social media post, Gov. Polis compared the sentences of Clerk Tina Peters and Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, both of whom were convicted of, amongst other charges, attempting to influence a public servant (Jaquez Lewis was convicted on one count of attempting to influence and three felony counts of forgery and sentenced to probation and a fine; Peters was convicted on three counts of felony attempting to influence, one felony count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one misdemeanor count of official misconduct, one misdemeanor count of violation of duty in elections, and one misdemeanor count of failure to comply with the secretary of state and received a total of nine years in jail and prison). Gov. Polis stated concern at the lack of equity in sentencing for the same crime, and while we appreciate his concern for the topic, comparing these two cases is similar to comparing apples and oranges. Unlike Jaquez Lewis's crimes, Peters' crimes resulted in millions of dollars in taxpayer expense to replace compromised voting equipment, outside of the irreparable damage to the reputation of Colorado's elections systems.
Coloradans and LWVCO take election security very seriously, and threats to that security must be taken seriously as well. Ms. Peters violated the public trust and has shown no remorse over her actions, while continuing to engage in false narratives that needlessly undermine public confidence in our electoral system.
TAKE ACTION! Tell Gov. Polis to reject political pressure that would allow Ms. Peters to escape full accountability for her actions against the people of Colorado.NO COMMUTATION!
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