A federal judge dismissed former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ request to be released from a Colorado prison while she appeals her voter fraud conviction. Judge Scott T. Varholak said he threw out Peters’ request because federal courts cannot intervene in ongoing state cases except under extraordinary circumstances.
While Peters’ federal appeal did not challenge her conviction, she argued that Colorado courts violated her First Amendment rights by denying her bond pending appeal of her state conviction. Colorado prosecutors argued that Peters was a flight risk and a public safety risk, and that her appeal was unlikely to succeed.
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Peters allowed unauthorized access to Mesa County’s voting systems in 2021. In October 2024, a jury convicted Peters of tampering with voting machines. She was sentenced to at least eight years in prison on that conviction.
Peters is now waiting to hear from the Colorado Court of Appeals, which will decide whether to overturn her conviction or sentence. She will remain in state custody until then.
