For democracies to survive, attacks on elections must carry consequences that should not be bargained away. By commuting the sentence of election denier Tina Peters on Friday, Colorado’s Democratic governor, Jared Polis, sent a dangerous message that accountability is negotiable when the political pressure becomes intense enough.
Clemency is not simply a legal judgment. It is a moral and civic statement about what conduct a society is willing to excuse, minimize or move beyond. After years of Donald Trump’s escalating attacks on election legitimacy, Polis’ action in this political climate — effectively cutting Peters’ nine-year sentence in half — further blunts the deterrent effect of enforcing election law. It suggests that even
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