Former Mesa County clerk sentenced to 9 years for 2020 voting system breach<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"The judge called Tina Peters \u201ca charlatan\u201d after she gave a rambling defense of her actions.\"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/tina-peters-prison-sentence-voting-breach-mesa-county-elections\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Mesa County clerk sentenced to 9 years for 2020 voting system breach\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The judge called Tina Peters \u201ca charlatan\u201d after she gave a rambling defense of her actions.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/tina-peters-prison-sentence-voting-breach-mesa-county-elections\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CyberScoop\"> <meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-03T20:24:18+00:00\"> <meta name=\"author\" content=\"djohnson\"> <meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\"> <meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Former Mesa County clerk sentenced to 9 years for 2020 voting system breach\"> <meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/former-mesa-county-clerk-sentenced-to-9-years-for-2020-voting-system-breach-2.jpg\">  <link rel=\"dns-prefetch\" href=\"\/\/securepubads.g.doubleclick.net\">\n<link rel=\"dns-prefetch\" href=\"\/\/use.typekit.net\">\n<link rel=\"alternate\" type=\"application\/rss+xml\" title=\"CyberScoop \u00bb Feed\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/feed\/\">\n<link rel=\"alternate\" type=\"application\/rss+xml\" title=\"CyberScoop \u00bb Comments Feed\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/comments\/feed\/\"> <link rel=\"stylesheet\" id=\"all-css-2\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-includes\/css\/dist\/block-library\/style.min.css?m=1725982252g\" type=\"text\/css\" media=\"all\"> <link rel=\"stylesheet\" id=\"all-css-6\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-content\/mu-plugins\/search\/elasticpress\/dist\/css\/related-posts-block-styles.min.css?m=1727795050g\" type=\"text\/css\" media=\"all\"> <link rel=\"stylesheet\" id=\"all-css-8\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-content\/themes\/scoopnewsgroup\/dist\/css\/frontend.css?m=1727888103g\" type=\"text\/css\" media=\"all\">\n<link rel=\"stylesheet\" id=\"typekit-css\" href=\"https:\/\/use.typekit.net\/itk2qbh.css?ver=ada0ad45b21fc79c6694\" media=\"all\"> <link rel=\"https:\/\/api.w.org\/\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-json\/\"><link rel=\"alternate\" title=\"JSON\" type=\"application\/json\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82029\"><link rel=\"EditURI\" type=\"application\/rsd+xml\" title=\"RSD\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/xmlrpc.php?rsd\">\n<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"WordPress 6.6.2\">\n<link rel=\"shortlink\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=82029\">\n<link rel=\"alternate\" title=\"oEmbed (JSON)\" type=\"application\/json+oembed\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-json\/oembed\/1.0\/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcyberscoop.com%2Ftina-peters-prison-sentence-voting-breach-mesa-county-elections%2F\">\n<link rel=\"alternate\" title=\"oEmbed (XML)\" type=\"text\/xml+oembed\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-json\/oembed\/1.0\/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcyberscoop.com%2Ftina-peters-prison-sentence-voting-breach-mesa-county-elections%2F&format=xml\">   <link rel=\"icon\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/cropped-cs_favicon-2.png?w=32\" sizes=\"32x32\">\n<link rel=\"icon\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/cropped-cs_favicon-2.png?w=192\" sizes=\"192x192\">\n<link rel=\"apple-touch-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/cropped-cs_favicon-2.png?w=180\">\n<meta name=\"msapplication-TileImage\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/cropped-cs_favicon-2.png?w=270\"> <\/head><body class=\"post-template-default single single-post postid-82029 single-format-standard\" id=\"readabilityBody\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/tina-peters-prison-sentence-voting-breach-mesa-county-elections\/#main\" class=\"skip-to-content-link visually-hidden-focusable\">Skip to main content<\/a> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--top ad--top-desktop\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <main id=\"main\" role=\"main\" tabindex=\"-1\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--top ad--top-mobile\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"stickybar\" class=\"stickybar stickybar--event js-stickybar\">\n<div class=\"stickybar__details\" readability=\"4.952380952381\">\n<div class=\"stickybar__info js-sticky-bar-content\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>Voting is open for the 2024 CyberScoop 50 awards! 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Peters lost to former Jefferson County Clerk Pam Anderson, who will move on to face Democratic incumbent Jena Griswold. (Photo by Marc Piscotty\/Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"51.139401654997\"><body readability=\"102.95677095773\"><\/p>\n<p>Tina Peters, a former county clerk for Mesa County, Colo., was sentenced to nine years in prison after being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpr.org\/2024\/08\/12\/tina-peters-trial-verdict\/\">convicted<\/a> earlier this year on seven felony counts for facilitating a data breach involving voting system data in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>The incident is widely viewed as one of the most serious breaches of election systems in modern history, illustrating how false election fraud claims, fueled by then-President Donald Trump in 2020 led allies to cross serious legal boundaries in an effort to validate their beliefs. <\/p>\n<p>The information stolen by Peters and her allies was later posted online. The leaked data did not reveal instances of fraud or vote-flipping by software. County officials reiterated at the sentencing that a manual recount of ballots, along with multiple audits found \u201cno material difference\u201d in the vote counts the county reported in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Peters spoke for 45 minutes, at times attempting to relitigate the case, maintaining her innocence and portraying herself as the true victim. In handing out the sentence, Judge Matthew Barrett excoriated Peters for the collective harm her crimes had caused to Mesa County, as well as her lack of remorse, calling her a \u201ccharlatan.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m convinced you\u2019d do it all over again,\u201d Barrett said.<\/p>\n<p>Peters\u2019 lawyers, who were pushing for the court to consider a sentence of time served, indicated at the hearing that they intend to appeal the sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis estimated that the costs the county incurred from Peters\u2019 crimes totaled more than $1.4 million, including legal costs and the salary that Peters continued to draw for 16 months after the incident despite \u201cbeing absent from her duties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Davis said the county commission had to take over as \u201cde facto\u201d county recorder and hire outside staff to conduct Peters\u2019 duties while she fundraised across the country, in some cases needing a court order to compel her to return for routine administrative matters like approving contracts. He also cited costs for putting employees on paid leave due to constant harassment by Peters and her supporters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cResources that could have gone to public infrastructure, building roads, filling potholes, hiring caseworkers or hiring new sheriff\u2019s officers are now diverted to this case or to backfilling the responsibilities that Ms. Peters had,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Beyond the calculable costs, Davis bemoaned the damage that Peters\u2019 crimes have done to the reputation of Mesa County and the pride of local residents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer behavior has made this county a national laughingstock,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Gerald Wood, a resident who was initially skeptical of the 2020 results, was given a security badge by Peters that allowed entry to Mesa County\u2019s election facilities. Before he could ever use it, Peters and her associates reclaimed the badge, then turned cameras off at the facility and used it to enter and copy voting system software.<\/p>\n<p>At the sentencing, Wood said Peters has \u201cnever, not once\u201d demonstrated remorse, adding that her actions brought him and his family national infamy and put them in the crosshairs of federal law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I was approached \u2026 about helping them preserve records, I operated in good faith,\u201d he said. \u201cBut in return, they \u2014 in league with others \u2014 lied to me, stole my identity and committed crimes in my name.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Wood, who said he now works in software security, said Peters\u2019 use of his identity has placed his current employment and business reputation at risk. He also relayed the humiliation of having to stand before his church congregation to explain his innocence when the breach was first revealed.<\/p>\n<p>Despite claiming to stand for free and fair elections, Wood said Peters has \u201cdone <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/cybersecurity-disinformation-dominates-hearing-on-elections\/\">more damage to election integrity<\/a> here in Mesa County and across the nation than anyone else could.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey have conducted a scorched-earth campaign in county after county with their grifting claims of proof of election fraud, using smoke and mirrors to present partial truths and tidbits of information, all to increase their own fame and fortune,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"3.7257142857143\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"13\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/former-mesa-county-clerk-sentenced-to-9-years-for-2020-voting-system-breach-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Derek B. Johnson\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Derek B. Johnson<\/h4>\n<p> Derek B. Johnson is a reporter at CyberScoop, where his beat includes cybersecurity, elections and the federal government. Prior to that, he has provided award-winning coverage of cybersecurity news across the public and private sectors for various publications since 2017. Derek has a bachelor\u2019s degree in print journalism from Hofstra University in New York and a master\u2019s degree in public policy from George Mason University in Virginia. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__tags-container\">\n<h4 class=\"single-article__tags-title\">In This Story<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<p> <\/html><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__ads js-single-article-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-5 ad--rightrail_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-4 ad--rightrail_2 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-3 ad--rightrail_3 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"popular-stories popular-stories--single-post\">\n<div class=\"popular-stories__container\">\n<h2 class=\"popular-stories__title\"> More Scoops <\/h2>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<section class=\"latest-podcasts\">\n<h2 class=\"latest-podcasts__title\"> Latest Podcasts\t<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"top-categories\">\n<div class=\"top-categories__container\">\n<h3 class=\"top-categories__category-title\">Government<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"top-categories__container\">\n<h3 class=\"top-categories__category-title\">Technology<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"top-categories__container\">\n<h3 class=\"top-categories__category-title\">Geopolitics<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/main> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--bottom \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"interstitial\" class=\"welcome__container\"> <button id=\"close-modal-1\" class=\"welcome__clickable_area\"><\/button> <\/p>\n<div class=\"welcome__ad_wrapper\">\n<p> <button id=\"close-modal-3\" class=\"welcome__continue-button\">Continue to CyberScoop<\/button> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>   <\/body> <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/tina-peters-prison-sentence-voting-breach-mesa-county-elections\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Mesa County clerk sentenced to 9 years for 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1685,1555,2839,1],"tags":[1688,1560,2840,325],"class_list":["post-5619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-disinformation","category-election","category-insider-threat","category-uncategorized","tag-disinformation","tag-election","tag-insider-threat","tag-uncategorized"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","chromenews-featured":"","chromenews-large":"","chromenews-medium":""},"author_info":{"display_name":"Cyber Scoop","author_link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/author\/cyberscoop\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/disinformation\/\" rel=\"category tag\">disinformation<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/election\/\" rel=\"category tag\">election<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/insider-threat\/\" rel=\"category tag\">insider threat<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>","tag_info":"Uncategorized","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5619\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":5619,"date":"2024-10-03T15:24:18","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T20:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=82029"},"modified":"2024-10-03T15:24:18","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T20:24:18","slug":"former-mesa-county-clerk-sentenced-to-9-years-for-2020-voting-system-breach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2024\/10\/03\/former-mesa-county-clerk-sentenced-to-9-years-for-2020-voting-system-breach\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Mesa County clerk sentenced to 9 years for 2020 voting system breach"},"content":{"rendered":"