A Colorado appeals court has ordered a new sentencing hearing for Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk who was convicted in a voting machine security breach tied to false 2020 election claims. The ruling could shorten or change her current nine-year prison term.  

The court said the original judge reportedly went too far by weighing her protected speech during sentencing, ABC reports.

The decision landed on Thursday and immediately reignited a case that has sparked major attention in the fight over election denial, free speech, and state power. 

Peters, once a local elections official in western Colorado, was found guilty after prosecutors said she helped arrange access to Mesa County’s voting system and exposed sensitive information online.

In its ruling, the appeals panel said the lower court improperly punished Peters for continuing to claim the 2020 election was stolen, even though those beliefs were not the crime itself. The judges also rejected the argument that President Donald Trump could pardon her for state offenses, a point that has helped keep the case in the spotlight among Trump allies.

Though there has been discussion of a pardon from Trump, it’s largely symbolic, since Colorado says it would not apply to her state convictions. The federal Bureau of Prisons also attempted to have Peters moved to a federal prison, though it didn’t come to fruition; the President remarked that Colorado was “suffering a big price” for not releasing her.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said the original sentence was “fair and appropriate,” arguing that Peters still faces serious accountability for endangering election security. 

“Whatever happens with her sentence, Tina Peters will always be a convicted felon who violated her duty as Mesa County clerk, put other lives at risk, and threatened our democracy. Nothing will remove that stain,” Weiser said in a statement.

In January, Governor Jared Polis also praised the court’s rejection of a Trump pardon claim while emphasizing the importance of due process.

Peters’ legal team may now seek credit for time already served, which could affect how much longer she stays behind bars. The case returns to a lower court for resentencing, keeping one of Colorado’s most politically charged legal fights alive.