Former Colorado elections official Tina Peters has rejected an offer to work as a consultant for the Shasta County Elections Office ahead of the November election.
The decision comes after California Gov. Gavin Newsom directed state corrections officials this week to try to block Peters from transferring her parole supervision to California.
Shasta County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis had extended an offer to hire Peters as a consultant.
Peters, the former clerk for Mesa County, Colorado, was convicted in 2024 for allowing unauthorized access to voting machines in Mesa County, Colorado, as part of an effort to support false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis commuted her sentence earlier this year after pressure from the Trump Administration. Peters is serving her remaining four years on parole.
Curtis’ attempt to hire Peters sparked outcry from county supervisors, California’s U.S. senators and Newsom.
Newsom said in a social media post this week that he was directing the state Department of Corrections to block a transfer of her parole to California. He called the job offer disgraceful.
U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff also sent a letter to the California Secretary of State Shirley Weber expressing their concern about the job offer. They asked Weber to provide increased oversight during the November election to ensure Peters did not have access to voting machines.
Curtis said Tuesday that Peters has rejected the job offer because she's too busy with other work across the country.
In a statement sent through her lawyer, Peters said, "I have not accepted any position with the Shasta County Elections Office. There have been discussions about ways I might assist with election integrity and ballot-authenticity efforts, but no formal role has been accepted. This has never been about just one county."
Shasta County supervisors censured Curtis last month for misconduct against staff, including making violent threats.
Curtis has alleged that employees in his office have interfered with elections.
Curtis lost the June election to former Assistant County Clerk Joanna Francescut, whom he fired last year. She will take office in January.
Bente Birkeland from Colorado Public Radio contributed to this story.
