Tina Peters barred from overseeing 2022 Mesa County elections

Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters will not be able to oversee her county’s primary or general elections this year, a judge determined Tuesday.

The judge removed Peters, a Republican, as the county’s designated election official and confirmed Brandi Bantz in that role for 2022.

“Based on the circumstances of this case … the Court determines that the Petitioners have met the burden of showing that Peters and (Deputy Clerk Belinda) Knisley have committed a neglect of duty and are unable to perform the duties of the Mesa County Designated Election Official,” Mesa County District Court Judge Valerie Robison wrote in her order.

Robison also wrote that Julie Fisher, Peters’ so-called “second chief deputy” does not have a statutory priority to be named designated election official, as was argued during testimony.

Peters is at the center of political and legal controversy after she allegedly allowed a security breach into the county’s election equipment during a software update in May 2021. She is under a grand jury indictment related to that activity, which is a separate case from the lawsuit decided Tuesday. Peters has repeatedly spread the lie that the 2020 election was fraudulent in Colorado. Claims of election fraud have been debunked by experts, courts and election officials from both parties.

Peters was barred from overseeing the 2021 coordinated election through a similar lawsuit from the secretary of state’s office, which also brought the latest lawsuit. She is now legally barred from serving as the election official through the completion of all 2022 election related activities.

“The Court’s decision today bars Peters from further threatening the integrity of Mesa’s elections and ensures Mesa County residents have the secure and accessible elections they deserve,” Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Brandi Bantz has worked in Colorado elections for over 20 years, including as a Director of Elections in Mesa, and I am confident Mesa voters will have great elections this year. As Secretary of State, I will continue to provide the support and oversight needed to ensure the integrity of Colorado’s elections.”

Peters is running to unseat Griswold as secretary of state and received large support from fellow Republicans at the party’s state assembly in April.