Tina Peters goes on trial in February. The former Mesa County clerk faces criminal charges for using her position overseeing local elections to empower a movement that falsely believes U.S. voting systems are rigged to steal elections. Peters' scheme and her evolution from trusting the election system to trying to subvert it from the inside is a warning sign for 2024.

This is an installment of Colorado in Depth, a podcast of documentary news, investigations and special reporting from CPR News. Follow the show for stories from the plains to the mountain, the Four Corners to the Front Range.

Hosts and reporters: Bente Birkeland and Stina Sieg
Producer and editor: Rachel Estabrook
Editor: Megan Verlee
Scoring and mixing: Shane Rumsey
Executive producers: Kevin Dale and Brad Turner
Additional support from Caitlyn Kim, Joe Wertz, Anthony Cotton and Nathaniel Minor
Artwork by Mia Rincón
Music by Blue Dot Sessions