Court considers whether to block indicted Colorado county clerk from overseeing elections

(CN) — A Colorado judge will decide whether to block embattled Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters from overseeing this year's elections, after she refused sign an order directing her to abide by the secretary of state's conditions aimed at protecting the county's voting equipment and voting systems.

Peters first came under scrutiny in 2021 after a security breach in her office led to the exposure of sensitive passwords and election processes. Peters is accused of allowing an unauthorized person to participate in what should have been a secure process for installing an update to the electronic voting system. Videos and photos were taken during the update that captured images of passwords, which were leaked online.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold successfully sued to block Peters from participating in the 2021 election, then filed a second lawsuit in January to bar Peters from overseeing the 2022 primary and midterm elections.

Following a grand jury investigation, Peters faces three felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant, four felony counts related to impersonation and identity theft and a misdemeanor count each of official misconduct, violating her duties and failing to comply with the secretary of state’s requirements.

Amidst civil and criminal investigations into her conduct, Peters announced in February she was running to try to take Colorado Democrat Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s seat. During the Republican assembly last week, Peters secured a spot on the primary ballot.

Peters filed two suits in March charging the state with improperly removing her deputy clerk and staff.

Throughout the state’s voting machine investigation, Peters told supporters she is standing up for what she believes in while citing baseless election fraud conspiracies spread after Biden won the presidency in 2020.

Former Secretary of State Wayne Williams, a Republican, was appointed to oversee last year’s elections in Peters’ absence. On the witness stand, he spoke of the fragile trust between the public and elections officials.

Williams testified in a hearing at the Mesa County Justice Center Monday.

“If you have unauthorized access, you can introduce malicious software, like something that would cause the machine to shut down on election day,” explained Williams. “Then there's the extent to which people lose confidence in the election. Because of that action, they are less likely to participate in the election and less likely to accept the results.”

Peters' attorney, Scott Gessler of Gessler Blue, asked Williams whether a clerk speaking out against wrongdoing would inspire confidence, but Williams stressed the importance of sticking to protocol.

Called to the witness stand, Deputy Secretary of State Chris Beall described the state’s motive for pursuing litigation against Peters, stemming in part from statements she made on podcasts, in press conferences and at public forums about her role in leaking voting machine images in 2021.

“My view, and the secretary’s view, was an unrepenting admission of the unlawful action and gratitude that the action had occurred,” Beall told the court.

Beall maintained the county’s elections were securely and accurately carried out in 2020 and 2021, even though conspiracy theorists cast doubts.

“I understood Ms. Peters to be saying the machines are not transparent, that they are designed to change votes, and that she intended to stop the machines from doing what they are designed to do, when they are designed to accurately count ballots,” Beall explained. “I found that deeply alarming because it implied Ms. Peters would interfere with voting machines and prevent them from accurately counting ballots.”

Gessler questioned the state’s ability to regulate a clerk’s speech. Beall argued the state had the authority to regulate speech if it compromised election integrity.

A second hearing is scheduled for Thursday. The court did not indicate when or how it will decide the case, but election deadlines are fast approaching.

Meanwhile in Denver, the House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs Committee considered the bi-partisan Internal Election Security Measures bill, which would explicitly prohibit unauthorized images to be taken of voting equipment and to make leaking passwords a felony. Under the proposal, individuals convicted of sedition, insurrection, treason, or conspiracy to overthrow the government would be automatically banned from overseeing elections in Colorado.

With clear allusions to Peters, Secretary of State Jena Griswold testified in support of the bill.

“Since the 2020 Election, our office has responded to previously unheard-of efforts to undermine the security of our elections. We have seen election officials here in Colorado and in other states compromise voting equipment and breach election security rules in the attempt to prove unfounded conspiracy theories,” Griswold said in a statement.

“These actors, some of whom are elected to office and trusted by the public to uphold the security of our elections, have done the exact opposite — their behavior has tarnished public confidence in our elections and fueled false narratives about how elections function,” Griswold added.

Follow @bright_lamp

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit