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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis was formally censured by his own party Wednesday, May 20, for his decision last week to grant clemency to Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk convicted on multiple felony counts for her role in a breach of her office’s election system.
More than 200 members of the Colorado Democratic Party’s central committee voted overwhelmingly to adopt a resolution censuring Polis for “conduct inconsistent with the (party’s) commitment to democratic institutions, election integrity, and public accountability,” and barring him indefinitely from formal participation in party-sponsored events. Preliminary results showed the measure passed with 89.8% support, party officials said.
“Colorado has spent years building trust in our elections and proving they are secure,” the declaration reads. “At a time when democracy and voting rights are under attack across the nation, weakening accountability for someone convicted of undermining that trust is a mistake.”
The action by Democrats’ state central committee comes after more than 700 party members signed a “formal controversy complaint” to the party’s rules committee in the days following Polis’ commutation order.
“Hundreds of Democrats across Colorado came together to demand accountability, consistency, and a stronger defense of our values,” Ian Coggins, a Denver Democratic Party member who organized the petition, wrote in an update Wednesday. “This conversation grew far beyond a single complaint. It became a reminder that the grassroots of this party still expect courage from its leaders and are willing to push for it.”
The governor’s decision, which came after a year-long campaign of legal pressure and coercion by President Donald Trump and other far-right election deniers seeking Peters’ release, was roundly condemned by other top Colorado Democrats, along with the Republican district attorney who prosecuted her and the GOP-dominated Colorado County Clerks Association.
Cayman Haltiner, a central committee member representing Mesa County, spoke in support of the censure during the meeting.
“Our local Republican district attorney, Dan Rubinstein, took a great risk standing up to Trump and working with (Attorney General Phil) Weiser in this case,” Haltiner said. “To grant (clemency to) Tina Peters, who unremorsefully broke the law because of lies on election integrity and election fraud, is a slap in the face to his work.”
In a statement, Polis spokesperson Eric Maruyama said the governor had made his decision “based on the facts of the case and what he believed was the right thing to do.”
“Sometimes the right thing isn’t the popular thing with everybody,” he said. “Democracy is strongest when disagreement is met with debate and dialogue, not censorship.”
One of the country’s most prominent election deniers, Peters was sentenced to a nine-year prison sentence after her 2024 conviction on charges related to a breach of her office’s secure elections equipment in a failed attempt to find evidence of fraud. During her trial, Peters continued to spread conspiracy theories about voting machines, and her attorney said hours after her commutation that she planned to continue her efforts to “get rid of these fraudulent voting machines” in the future.
Impeachment calls
Polis issued his commutation of Peters’ sentence two days after the Colorado General Assembly ended its 2026 legislative session. Democratic lawmakers, who hold large majorities in both chambers of the Legislature, had discussed holding a censure vote of their own if Polis had granted Peters clemency prior to their adjournment, The Denver Post reported last week.
Some in the party’s progressive wing have called for lawmakers to reconvene in a special session to censure or even impeach Polis. David Seligman, a Democratic candidate for Colorado attorney general, released an open letter to lawmakers earlier this week urging them to “consider all available accountability measures.” He praised the party’s censure vote Wednesday but said it’s “not enough.”
“The General Assembly should reconvene to investigate and hold him accountable. And if he commuted Tina Peters’ sentence at the behest of Donald Trump, surrendering the sovereign authority of Colorado, he should be impeached,” Seligman said in a statement. “We have to be done with performative politics and wield the tools of public power for real accountability for abuses of power.”
Under the Colorado Constitution, convening a special session without a call from the governor requires a two-thirds majority, meaning Democrats would need the support of several Republican lawmakers. Impeachment requires a majority vote of the state House, and conviction and removal from office requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate. Impeachment of a governor has never occurred before in the state’s 150-year history.
Widespread condemnation
All six Democratic members of Colorado’s congressional delegation, along with Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib and a long list of state lawmakers and local officials, had previously condemned Polis’ decision.
While presiding over Wednesday’s meeting prior to the vote, Murib read a statement of support from U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, who said that Democrats must be “willing to call out our own when they fall short.”
“Coloradans deserve leaders who act with moral clarity, fight corruption, and are willing to take on a broken system. Colorado must stand in the breach, fight back against the President’s lawlessness, and protect our shared values,” Crow said. “For these reasons, I support Chair Murib bringing this matter to the Colorado Democratic Party.”
Colorado Democratic Party statement
“Tina Peters was convicted by a jury of her peers and sentenced by a judge who said she would do it all over again if she could. The Republican district attorney who prosecuted her called any sentence reduction ‘a gross injustice.’ He’s right.
Reducing her sentence now, under pressure from Donald Trump, is not justice. It sends a message to future bad actors that election tampering has consequences, unless you’re friends with the president. That’s a dangerous and disappointing precedent to set.
Colorado has spent years building trust in our elections and proving they are secure. At a time when democracy and voting rights are under attack across the nation, weakening accountability for someone convicted of undermining that trust is a mistake.
There are real cases that deserve the Governor’s attention and action. This is not one of them.
The State Central Committee finds that Governor Jared Polis’s decision to grant clemency to Tina Peters materially harmed the Colorado Democratic Party’s institutional credibility and efforts to defend democratic institutions and election integrity.
The State Central Committee formally condemns Governor Jared Polis’s clemency decision regarding Tina Peters and formally censures Governor Jared Polis for conduct inconsistent with the Colorado Democratic Party’s commitment to democratic institutions, election integrity, and public accountability.
The Colorado Democratic Party further clarifies that the clemency decision does not reflect the values, institutional positions, or democratic commitments of the Colorado Democratic Party.
The Colorado Democratic Party reaffirms its unwavering commitment to election workers, free and fair elections, and the rejection of election denialism and disinformation in all forms.
The State Central Committee recognizes the hundreds of Democrats who swiftly organized and raised their voices in defense of democracy and public trust in Colorado’s election system following the commutation decision.
Until further action by the State Central Committee or Executive Committee, Governor Jared Polis shall not participate as an honored guest, featured speaker, or officially recognized representative of the Colorado Democratic Party at Party-sponsored events and functions. including but not limited to the Obama Gala and DemFest.”
This story is republished from Colorado Newsline, a part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.