Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters met with former President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday to discuss “election integrity” and plans for upcoming elections, a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney reported. The meeting involved a local figure recently released from prison after being convicted of felonies related to a security breach of election equipment in her office, with discussions touching on potential federal involvement in November's midterm elections.
Ed Martin, who left his Justice Department position for legal work concerning upcoming elections, told Real America’s Voice that Peters, a Republican, was in the Oval Office earlier Monday talking about these questions. Martin stated that Trump was taking the issue seriously. Peters was convicted of multiple felonies for her role in a security breach of her office’s election equipment.
The precise nature of the plans Peters and Trump discussed remains unclear. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis stated that the White House “does not comment on private meetings that may or may not have happened.” Adrienne Mazzone, publicist for Peters’ attorney Peter Ticktin, confirmed that Ticktin could not discuss or confirm matters due to attorney-client privilege. An unnamed source, however, confirmed to ABC News that Peters and Trump met Monday.
Martin emphasized that while there is “local control” over local elections, federal laws govern aspects like “safety and national security” within the system. He also noted that if Congress fails to pass the SAVE America Act, which would establish a nationwide requirement for voters to prove their citizenship with documents, “the president’s going to have to do what he’s going to do.”
Broader claims about election security and integrity have been made by federal officials. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has stated that foreign adversaries have access to U.S. voting machines and “can change voter registration and your vote.” However, his department provided no additional details to PolitiFact to clarify this claim. An election technology expert informed PolitiFact that voter registration does not involve voting machines, and there is no proof that foreign actors have attempted to manipulate voting machine security controls.
The Homeland Security Department has allocated $1 billion in taxpayer funds to protect elections, setting specific requirements for government entities to receive grant funding. More recently, department officials have indicated no plans to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to patrol polling places, though voter advocates remain skeptical of this claim, according to The Associated Press.
Former President Trump has previously taken actions to target mail ballots, though many of his efforts, including an executive order that would have imposed requirements for states to notify the Postal Service about mail ballots, have been blocked by courts. Trump has repeatedly claimed that mail-in voting is prone to widespread fraud. However, there is no evidence to support such claims, and instances of fraud with mail-in ballots are extremely rare. Colorado’s post-election audits consistently confirm the accurate counting of ballots. Notably, Trump voted by mail in Florida’s GOP primary this year and has recently encouraged his supporters to vote by any available means, including by mail.
Colorado officials have responded to these election integrity discussions. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, stated that Peters and Trump “are election deniers who have repeatedly lied to the American people.” Griswold added that Coloradans can be confident that “Trump’s unlawful attempts to influence election administration” have so far been defeated, and any future attempts to interfere with Colorado elections will be fought.
Earlier this year, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, reduced Peters’ prison sentence. The Colorado Department of Corrections subsequently released her in June.
