Eagle County Clerks React to Governor Polis Pardoning Tina Peters

The hum of the servers in the new Eagle County Commons building is a far cry from the chaotic, paper-heavy days of the Mesa County Clerk’s office. But for Becky Close, that quiet efficiency in Edwards is now shadowed by a single, looming question: did Governor Jared Polis just gamble with the integrity of every ballot box in the state?

Polis, who owns a home in Vail, believes his decision to cut nearly nine years off Tina Peters’ sentence will be remembered as an act of national "reconciliation and healing." He’s drawing a direct line to Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon. It’s a bold historical parallel. It’s also, for many locals, a hard pill to swallow.

Peters, the former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder, served time for breaching her own election systems to prove her "deep state" theories about the 2020 election. She didn’t just make a claim; she physically accessed the records. Now, the governor has essentially let her out early.

The reaction from the people who actually run our elections isn’t just disappointment. It’s fury.

The Colorado County Clerks’ Association (CCCA) didn’t mince words. In a joint statement, they called the decision an abandonment of election officials at a critical time. They argue that by freeing Peters, Polis is validating the attacks on the legitimacy of American elections. That’s not just political posturing. That’s a direct challenge to the people who count your vote.

Becky Close, the current Eagle County Clerk and Recorder, knows this system inside out. She’s overseeing the county’s new state-of-the-art election center right here in the Eagle County Commons building. It’s secure. It’s transparent. It’s designed to prevent the kind of chaos Peters claimed existed.

Close, an unaffiliated candidate for reelection in November, wrote that while the clemency power is legally within the governor’s discretion, the timing and the target matter. She supported a letter from clerks across the state objecting to the move. She’s not saying the law was broken. She’s saying the trust was eroded.

Teak Simonton, Eagle County Treasurer and a former Republican who switched parties, isn’t buying the "healing" narrative either. Simonton, who is seeking reelection this November, noted that Peters was found guilty by a jury of her peers. The sentence reflected the severity of violating protocols meant to protect election security.

Let’s do the math on the political fallout. Peters is a convicted felon. She spent years in jail. Now she’s out, and she’s a symbol for the "election denial" movement. If she runs for office again — and there are rumors she might — the clock starts ticking on her eligibility. But more importantly, her release signals to the rest of the country that the governor’s office is willing to overlook significant legal infractions for political allies.

For context, consider the cost of trust. When a clerk like Close spends millions on a new facility to ensure transparency, every breach of protocol feels like a personal insult. Peters didn’t just lose an appeal; she lost her credibility in the eyes of her peers. Now, the governor has reset that clock.

Polis is term-limited. He leaves office at the end of the year. He doesn’t need to worry about his own reelection. He’s playing for legacy. He thinks history will be kind.

But locals aren’t looking at history books. They’re looking at their own county clerks. They’re looking at the security of the next presidential election. And they’re wondering if "reconciliation" means the same thing to the governor as it does to the woman counting the ballots in Edwards.

The CCCA statement said it best: "We are furious, disgusted, and deeply disappointed."

That’s not just a press release. That’s the mood in the clerk’s offices from Delta to Eagle. The system is still running. But the foundation just cracked.