Republican election official slams Donald Trump for his comments on election security, and accuses him of spreading ‘disinformation and lies’

During a Sunday night appearance on 60 Minutes, Matt Crane spoke at length about the challenges facing election workers. The head of the Colorado County Clerks Association, who identifies as a Republican, directed much of his criticism at President Donald Trump.

Crane argued that the president holds primary responsibility for declining public confidence in American elections. He connected that decline to Trump’s continued public support for former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters as well as the administration’s broader push on voter fraud claims.

Correspondent Bill Whitaker noted Crane’s party affiliation. Crane responded that the concerns he raised do not belong to one side. “This is not a partisan issue,” he said.

Crane outlines limits on local officials’ ability to counter presidential statements

Crane described a clear imbalance in how information reaches voters. “As election officials, we don’t have the kind of megaphone that the president of the United States has,” he said. “He has much more ability to spread disinformation and lies about our election process than we do to spread the truth about what really happens.”

Whitaker referenced Trump’s characterization of Peters as a “hostage being held in a Colorado prison by the Democrats for political reasons.” Crane indicated that language had the effect of framing an election administration matter as a political contest.

Peters faced trial in 2021 and was convicted on four felony counts and three misdemeanors. The charges stemmed from an unauthorized breach of Mesa County’s voting equipment. Prosecutors said she compromised the system in an effort to demonstrate that Trump had won the 2020 presidential election.

A judge imposed a nine-year prison term. In May, Democratic Governor Jared Polis commuted the sentence, and Peters was released after serving roughly two years. Trump has since met with Peters at the White House to discuss election integrity ahead of the midterms.

Crane called the commutation a “complete betrayal of the election community.” Asked why he thought the governor acted, Crane answered, “I mean, as simple as it is, he bent the knee to President Trump.”

In a separate portion of the same interview, Polis told Whitaker he accepted that Peters’s conviction was proper. At the same time, he maintained the original sentence exceeded what the facts warranted and said he believed three years would have been the upper limit.

When Whitaker mentioned critics who accused him of yielding to presidential pressure, Polis replied, “No. This would’ve been much easier to do had the president never mentioned her.” He added, “This was a nonviolent, elderly, first-time offender who got a longer sentence than she should’ve. Straightforward case.”