Tina Peters’ conviction underscores the need for a federal investigation into the multistate conspiracy by Trump allies to breach voting machines and take voting system software. The software taken from Mesa County, Colorado, could be used to try to contest election results.

While Tina Peters’ conviction may suggest that the system is holding accountable Trump’s allies involved in the coordinated plot to steal copies of election system software from multiple jurisdictions across several states, a closer look reveals how badly law enforcement has dropped the ball. In the few instances where a local law enforcement agency sought to charge those involved in the access,  other accomplices central to the schemes have escaped charges. More concerning, there has been no federal investigation into the coordinated, multistate conspiracy to share the unlawfully obtained software with a network of Trump supporters and election deniers that tried to overturn the 2020 election.

Unrefuted evidence shows that proprietary voting-counting software from Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania has been shared all across the country with individuals and entities that tried to overturn the 2020 election. Furthermore, the software continues to be analyzed and used in efforts to discredit or invalidate election outcomes. Yet these plots and threats, which cross state lines, have been ignored by the FBI, Department of Justice and Special Counsel Jack Smith. This conviction is positive, but a federal investigation must be initiated immediately into these potential crimes.