FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Colorado Democrats voted overwhelmingly to censure one of their own, Gov. Jared Polis, for commuting the prison sentence of Tina Peters, the election conspiracy theorist who amplified President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that mass fraud caused his 2020 election loss.About 90% of the state party’s roughly 700 Central Committee members voted Wednesday for censure. It means that Polis, who is term-limited and serving his final year in office, will be barred from being an honored guest, featured speaker, or officially recognized party representative at party-sponsored events.Peters, 70, is a former county clerk who was sentenced to nine years behind bars after being convicted in 2024 for a scheme to make a copy of her county’s election computer system.She is set for release June 1 after Polis commuted her sentence Friday.
Trump has championed Peters’ cause. Reducing her sentence set a “dangerous and disappointing” precedent when democracy and voting rights are under attack nationwide, the Colorado Democratic Party said in a statement.“It sends a message to future bad actors that election tampering has consequences, unless you’re friends with the president,” the statement said.
