Tina Peters’ lawyers try to convince Colorado court to overturn conviction for voting system breach

DENVER (AP) — Lawyers for former Colorado elections clerk Tina Peters will try to convince a state appeals court on Wednesday to overturn her conviction in a case revolving around the [2020 presidential election](https://apnews.com/hub/2020-united-states-presidential-election) as her supporters, including [President Donald Trump](https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump), continue to pressure the state to set her free. Peters, the former clerk in Mesa County, was [convicted of state crimes](https://apnews.com/article/tina-peters-election-computer-breach-8a171657321dd595dfd2dd81e0a0a848) for orchestrating a data breach of the county’s elections equipment, driven by false claims about voting machine fraud after [Trump lost](https://apnews.com/article/election-claims-biden-won-explained-bd53b14ce871412b462cb3fe2c563f18) his reelection bid. She is serving a nine-year sentence at a prison in Pueblo after being convicted in 2024 in her home county, a Republican stronghold that supported Trump. Trump [pardoned Peters](https://apnews.com/article/trump-pardon-tina-peters-colorado-43abc451b87ade3bd63b4b246f31edd4) in December, but his pardon power does not extend to state crimes. Peters’ lawyers have said Trump [has the authority to pardon her](https://apnews.com/article/trump-pardon-tina-peters-colorado-appeal-28b86c413ae9d112931aaf3fb5a1abd3), arguing that President George Washington issued pardons to people convicted of both state and federal crimes during the Whiskey Rebellion in 1795... --- *Note: This is a summarized excerpt. Click the source link above to read the full story.*