Election integrity has been a major topic of concern for millions of Americans in recent years. And with the midterms coming up fast, it will once again be in the limelight.
It doesn’t help that numerous cases around the country continue to show cracks in the system. For example, there’s a Mesa County Clerk in Colorado that now faces an arrest warrant and indictment.
And it seems she left the state without permission — so her punishment might be even steeper.
Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters was indicted in March by a grand jury, when she was hit with 10 misdemeanor and felony charges in regards to an election security breach.
At the center of this probe was vote-counting machines, which have been called into question many times since the 2020 presidential election.
In this case, Peters was accused of letting a consultant “create an unauthorized copy” of the machine’s hard drive. Not long after, leaked data and passwords from Dominion Voting Systems started to pop up online.
That’s when investigators traced the leak back to Mesa County, and Peters was arrested.
She has maintained her innocence and claims the charges against her are “politically motivated.” But that didn’t change the judge’s decision, and now she’s banned from working in the 2022 elections.
On top of that (via Washington Examiner):
A judge issued a warrant for the arrest of Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters, who has been indicted on charges of tampering with voting machine equipment and is barred from administering the 2022 elections.
The arrest warrant comes in response to Peters’s alleged violation of the terms of her bond by traveling to Las Vegas without giving proper notification to the court and attaining permission. Her bond was also revoked by the judge.
Mesa County District Court Judge Matthew David Barrett laid down the ruling, after district attorney Dan Rubinstein provided proof that Peters had traveled outside the state without approval.
Peters apparently went to Las Vegas for a Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officer’s Association conference, saying at the time she’d been free to travel while campaigning for Colorado secretary of state.
Peters however lost that bid for the Republican nod last month.
Now, Judge Barrett has barred Peters from any more travel without approval, and her $25,000 cash bond has been revoked. This means she’ll have to stay in jail until she can get another hearing.
Election and voting rules are a key component of any republic, which is why some states are trying to clamp down and enforce these rules.
The issue involving voting machines is another matter, and something that can’t be ignored. If we can’t rely on the equipment due to user bias, then it’s difficult for voters to trust the system as a whole.
Key Takeaways:
- A Colorado County Clerk was arrested and indicted for allegedly tampering with voting machines.
- She’s accused of leaving the state without permission, and her bond has been revoked.
- Election integrity remains a huge concern for many U.S. citizens.
Source: Washington Examiner
