Denver, CO — A Republican election official in Colorado sharply criticized President Donald Trump for spreading false claims about U.S. elections and for continuing to defend former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was convicted of crimes tied to a breach of voting equipment.
Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, told CBS’s 60 Minutes that Trump’s enormous public platform allows him to spread election misinformation far more widely than election officials can counter it.
“This is not a partisan issue,” Crane said after confirming that he is a Republican.
Peters was convicted by a Colorado jury of four felonies and three misdemeanors after allowing an unauthorized person access to secure election equipment while pursuing unsupported claims that voting machines had cost Trump the 2020 election.
Trump repeatedly called Peters a political “hostage” and even issued her a federal pardon, though it had no legal effect because her convictions were under state law.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis later commuted Peters’ nearly nine-year prison sentence after she had served less than two years. Crane called that decision a “complete betrayal of the election community” and accused Polis of yielding to pressure from Trump.
Polis denies that characterization, saying Peters deserved punishment but that her original sentence was excessive.
Peters has remained unapologetic and continues promoting election-fraud claims despite multiple investigations finding no evidence that voting-machine fraud changed the 2020 result.
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