Election security breach trial for Tina Peters delayed until February 2024

Tina Peters’ trial for her involvement in an election security breach is set for February, nearly a year after it was originally supposed to happen.

Mesa County District Judge Matthew Barrett set jury selection to begin on Feb. 9. Barrett is expecting eight trial days.

Peters, the former Mesa County clerk, is charged with three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, three counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one count of identity theft, one count of official misconduct, one count of elections violations, and one count of failure to comply with the Colorado secretary of state.

The allegations stem from a security breach around an election systems software update in 2021, when sensitive data was copied and system passwords were photographed and posted online. Peters allegedly brought election conspiracy theorist Conan Hayes to the update but misrepresented him as a man named Gerald Wood.

Two of Peters’ former clerks, Sandra Brown and Belinda Knisley, pleaded guilty to similar charges and agreed to testify against Peters.

Her trial was first scheduled for March this year and was delayed twice to August and then October.

Peters recently changed her legal team. Her new lawyers, Douglas Richards and Madalia Maaliki, filed the motion to reschedule the trial so they could adequately prepare.