Judge denies acquittal to Tina Peters in charges related to voting machine data leak

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (CN) — A Colorado judge on Thursday denied a motion for judgment of acquittal filed by Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk and recorder facing criminal charges related to a 2021 voting machine data leak.

“Considering all of the forgoing evidence and in light of the charges that have been filed, the court does conclude the people have established sufficient evidence in both quantity and quality that proves her guilt beyond the reason of doubt,” 21st Judicial District Judge Matthew Barrett, an appointee of Democratic Governor Jared Polis, said from the bench.

Following seven days of witness testimony from state and Mesa County elections administrators, as well as an employee of Dominion Voting Systems, and a man who’s identity was misused in the leak, prosecutors rested their case Thursday.

“The facts support the charges in the indictment,” argued special deputy district attorney Janet Drake. "We’re ready to move the case to the jury.”

Prosecutors contend that in May 2021, Peters instructed her deputy clerk to turn off security cameras and arranged for associate Conan Hayes to use a contractor's credentials to observe and photograph the voting machine trusted build, an update process conducted in person since the machines can’t connect to the internet.

The voting machine data and passwords were then sent to a Florida-based company for analysis and posted on the social media site Telegram by Ron Watkins, a key player in the QAnon conspiracy movement.

For her role, Peters faces three felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant, four felony counts related to impersonation and identity theft and three misdemeanor counts for official misconduct, violating her duties and failing to comply with the secretary of state’s requirements.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold later decertified the county’s voting machines, prompting commissioners to shell out $96,153 on a contract extension to get new machines.

In August 2021 and January 2022, Griswold successfully sued to remove Peters from overseeing upcoming elections, fueling Peters’ narrative that she was unfairly punished for speaking out against election fraud.

Defense attorneys for Peters asked the jury to keep an open mind, countering that she followed the law as written at the time, and believed she was required to retain records that were about to be deleted during the machine update.

In court and on social media, Peters has consistently claimed she is being persecuted for criticizing the government. A community of likeminded election deniers, including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, have embraced Peters and helped pay her legal fees.

Peters’ defense team includes John Case, of Littleton, Colo., and Dan Hartman, who has represented the Michigan Republican Party in court.

Peters will call her first witness Friday morning and the trial is scheduled to run through Aug. 12.

Peters did not tell the judge whether she intends to testify in her own defense, though her attorneys have made it known they plan to call individuals associated with the election denialism movement, including conservative activist Sherronna Bishop and Joseph Oltmann, the host of the Conservative Daily podcast.

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