The extraordinary, but expected, decision puts Gov. Jared Polis at odds not only with fellow Democrats, but also with many Republicans in Colorado

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday cut former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ nine-year prison sentence in half, and ordered the 70-year-old, who has become a national martyr for election conspiracy theorists, released on parole June 1.

Peters’ sentence for orchestrating a security breach of her county’s election system in 2021 in a failed attempt to uncover voter fraud is now four years and four and a half months under a clemency order issued by the governor.

“She, because of her incorrect and unpopular speech, got an unduly harsh sentence,” Polis said Friday in an interview with The Colorado Sun, adding that he believes her new sentence is still “very harsh.”

“I’m not pardoning her,” he explained. “I publicly have said very early on I would not even consider a pardon. She’s a convicted felon. She deserves to be a convicted felon. She will remain a convicted felon.”

The extraordinary, but expected, decision puts Polis at odds not only with fellow Democrats, but also with many Republicans in Colorado — including the man who prosecuted Peters and a list of conservative local elections officials outraged by Peters’ behavior.

The governor’s move — which comes as Polis and Colorado have faced mounting criticism and retaliation from President Donald Trump — also likely ends any speculation about his political future as a Democrat. By commuting Peters’ sentence, Polis, who has been mentioned as a possible presidential contender, has probably neutered any chance of rising in his party’s ranks.

The governor’s closest advisers have privately counseled him against inserting himself in Peters’ case, warning of the intense political risks.

Polis’ decision, which came as he announced clemency for dozens of other people convicted of crimes in Colorado, will also likely cast a pall over his last six months in office and make him a pariah among fellow Democrats. He is term-limited and cannot run for reelection in 2026.