Colorado clerk Tina Peters pleads not guilty in election tampering case

Colorado county clerk Tina Peters pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of election tampering and official misconduct in connection with a security breach of Mesa County’s voting system last year.

Peters faces 10 felony and misdemeanor charges following a grand jury’s indictment related to the breach. She is accused of allowing unauthorized people to break into her county’s election system in search of evidence supporting baseless election fraud theories espoused by former President Donald Trump.

The felony charges include attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation and identity theft. Peters also faces misdemeanor charges of official misconduct, violation of duty and failure to comply with requirements of the Colorado secretary of state.

NBC News has asked Peters for comment.

Peters, who ran unsuccessfully for Colorado secretary of state this year, has denied wrongdoing and has said the charges are politically motivated. While she has issued reports purporting to show suspicious activity within voting systems, various officials and experts have debunked them.

Following the allegations, a judge barred Peters from overseeing both last year's and this year's elections in Mesa County, which Trump won handily in 2020.

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Last month, a recount confirmed that Peters lost the GOP primary for Colorado's top elections post. Peters demanded a recount after she lost by more than 85,000 votes, baselessly alleging fraud, and she raised more than $250,000 to fund the effort.

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The recount barely changed the results, with Peters picking up just 13 more votes in the primary. Peters moved to challenge the recount, suing Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold and the state’s county clerks. A judge threw out Peters’ lawsuit Tuesday.

Peters pleaded not guilty the same day the state Supreme Court temporarily blocked her from deposing the judge presiding over an unrelated contempt of court case against her.