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Crystal Mason
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Crystal Mason
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Crystal Mason is an African-American woman who was charged, convicted, and then acquitted for attempting to cast a vote while on federal supervised release during the 2016 United States presidential election.[1] Mason was under supervised release after completing a five-year sentence for tax fraud, and was ineligible to vote according to Texas voting laws. After finding her name was not on the sign-in sheets at her polling place, a poll worker helped Mason to cast a provisional ballot. She was convicted three months later for voter fraud and sentenced to five years imprisonment, a punishment that gained national attention.[2] On March 31, 2021 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed to consider Mason's appeal,[3] and on March 28, 2024 her conviction was overturned.[4]

Background

[edit]

Mason committed tax fraud by inflating returns for her clients as a tax preparer, a crime for which she was arrested and pled guilty in 2011 and was sentenced in 2012. She was released after completing her sentence in 2016, and decided to vote in the 2016 election after being encouraged by her mother.[5] Per a statement by the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Office, a letter detailing her inability to vote was sent shortly after her incarceration for tax fraud. Mason said she never received the letter, as she was already incarcerated.[6] The state prohibits convicted felons from voting while they serve their sentence, while on parole, probation or under supervision.[7]

Shortly before entering the White House, President-elect Donald Trump raised claims that 3 million illegal ballots had been cast in the 2016 election. In 2016, about 40,000 people in Texas cast provisional ballots that were later rejected.[8] Additionally, in Tarrant County where she voted, more than 12,000 people have voted using a provisional ballot since 2014 with seven out of eight ballots rejected, and Mason seems to be the only voter who used this method to be charged with illegal voting.[9]

Voter fraud conviction

[edit]

On November 8, 2016, Mason drove to her polling place in Rendon, Texas. When she attempted to sign in, the volunteer could not find her name on the sheets and gave her a provisional ballot that would be counted if her credential were valid. Written on the ballot is a statement that cautions individuals and explains that a person cannot vote if he or she is on supervised release as Mason was.[8] Mason said she did not see the statement on the ballot, as an election worker was helping her.[5] Mason was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment.

[edit]

Mason was convicted in 2018 for trying to vote in the 2016 election while on supervised release from her prior tax fraud felony conviction.[10] During her initial trial, a probation official stated that he never told Mason that she could not vote, while Mason stated that she signed an affidavit that stated she was an eligible voter.[11]

Mason was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the ACLU Voting Rights Project, the Texas Civil Rights Project, and two personal attorneys.[8] In her appeal for the voter fraud conviction, Mason's defense team argued that it was unclear if Mason was truly ineligible to vote, or if she even voted since the provisional ballot was rejected and not tallied in the count.[6]

In March 2020, three Texas judges of the Second District Court of Appeals rejected her appeal.[12] Judge Wade Birdwell wrote the decision for the three judge panel, stating that the fact that Mason did not know she was legally ineligible to vote was irrelevant to her prosecution and that the state only needed to prove that she voted while knowing that she was under supervision and therefore ineligible.[9] Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson offered Mason and her attorneys the option of probation instead of a jail sentence or a continued legal battle, but Mason refused.[2]

On November 30, 2020, Mason's attorneys filed a petition with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to review the case.[13] The petition asserts that the lower court ruling violates Texas law and conflicts with the Court's previous ruling in DeLay v. State. The conviction of former Republican U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay was thrown out on the basis that an individual must "know" that their conduct violates the Election Code. Andre Segura, legal director for the ACLU of Texas, was quoted in a press release, "The same result must apply to Crystal—a woman who was not aware she was ineligible to vote and had no reason to risk her liberty." On March 31, 2021, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has agreed to consider Crystal Mason's appeal.[3] On May 11, 2022, the court ruled that her conviction must be sent back to the appellate court for review. The court ruled that the lower court “erred by failing to require proof that [Mason] had actual knowledge that it was a crime for her to vote while on supervised release.”[14]

On April 18, 2023, the Second District Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case. The only remaining question was whether Mason knew she was ineligible to vote. Judge Wade Birdwell said of the provisional ballot application form, “there’s nothing in this language that actually tells her she is ineligible.” The ruling, when made, could again be appealed by either side back to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.[15]

On March 28, 2024, the Second District Court of Appeals overturned Mason's voter fraud conviction. The court said in the decision that there was no evidence Mason knew she was ineligible to vote when she cast her ballot — which is a condition that must be met in order to convict her of illegal voting.[4]

Response

[edit]

Supporters of Mason and voter rights activists have pointed out the discrepancy between Mason's sentencing and the sentencing of Terri Lynn Rote, who tried to vote for Donald Trump twice; Bruce Bartman, who voted under his own name and, using an expired identification, on his deceased mother's ballot; and Justice of the Peace Russ Casey, who admitted to forging signatures to get on the primary ballot. Rote, Bartman, and Casey received two and five years' probation instead of Mason's five-year sentence to jail.[6][16]

Demonstrators protested against her sentencing on Labor Day in 2020, along with protesting the perceived lack of transparency about voting rights for convicted felons.[10]

References

[edit]
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Crystal Mason

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from Grokipedia
Crystal Mason is a resident of , convicted in 2018 of illegal voting under Texas Election Code § 64.012 for casting a provisional in the November 2016 while on supervised release for a 2011 federal felony conviction of conspiracy to defraud the through . The Tarrant County jury found that Mason knowingly provided false information on her election identification certificate by affirming eligibility despite her ongoing supervised release, which under law disqualifies felons from voting until full discharge from supervision; she was sentenced to five years' confinement for the second-degree felony. On direct appeal, the in 2022 affirmed that submitting a provisional constitutes voting and rejected claims under the Help America Vote Act, but remanded for reconsideration of whether the evidence sufficiently proved Mason's knowledge of her ineligibility, interpreting the statute to require such beyond mere ineligibility. Following remand, the Second Court of Appeals reversed the conviction in March 2024, holding the evidence legally insufficient to establish knowing ineligibility, effectively acquitting Mason, though the state petitioned for discretionary review by the Court of Criminal Appeals, which granted it in August 2024. The case drew national attention amid broader debates on felony disenfranchisement, provisional voting safeguards, and the rarity of prosecutions for individual ineligible , with Mason maintaining she was unaware of her status after completing her prison term and checking with election officials.

Background

Personal History

Crystal Mason is an African-American woman and lifelong resident of , where she grew up in her grandmother's house in the small community of Rendon. She is a mother of three children, including an adult son who attended college on a football scholarship. Mason completed her schooling, graduating prior to adulthood.

Prior Felony Conviction

In 2011, Crystal Mason pleaded guilty to a federal felony charge of conspiracy to defraud the through a scheme involving the preparation of fraudulent returns. The offense stemmed from operating a phony preparation that filed false claims to obtain fraudulent refunds. Her conviction became final by 2013. Mason was sentenced to five years of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $4,206,805.49 in restitution. She served the term and, by 2016, was residing at her pre-incarceration address while under active federal supervised release. This status rendered her ineligible to vote under law, which disenfranchises individuals until full completion of their sentence, including any period of supervision for felony convictions.

2016 Voting Incident

Casting the Provisional Ballot

On November 8, 2016, Crystal Mason presented herself at her designated polling place, Tabernacle Baptist Church in Rendon, , to participate in the United States presidential . Accompanied by her husband, whose vote was processed normally, Mason's name did not appear on the voter registration rolls, prompting an election official to issue her a under Texas Code provisions allowing such when a voter's eligibility cannot be immediately verified at the polls. To cast the provisional ballot, Mason completed and signed an Affidavit of Provisional Voter (also known as Form 8-1), affirming under penalty of that she was a citizen, a resident, at least 18 years old on , not finally convicted of a (or, if convicted, had fully completed all punishment including incarceration, , , or supervised release), and had not been determined mentally incapacitated with respect to voting by a final court judgment. She then marked her selections on the and submitted it electronically via the precinct's . This process complied with federal requirements for provisional voting but subjected her to later verification of eligibility by Tarrant County election officials.

Texas Voter Eligibility Laws for Felons

Texas Election Code § 11.002 establishes voter eligibility requirements, stipulating that a person is ineligible to vote if finally convicted of a and has not fully discharged the sentence imposed, including incarceration, , , or community supervision following a final of guilt. Restoration of voting rights occurs automatically upon completion of all sentence terms or via , without requiring a separate application; abolished lifetime disenfranchisement for felons in 1983 through . Individuals serving any portion of a sentence, such as those on or after a final , remain disqualified from registering or voting until the full term ends. Deferred adjudication community supervision under Code of Article 42.12, § 5, does not qualify as a final , as guilt is not adjudicated unless terms are violated and revoked; thus, participants in deferred programs for offenses retain voting eligibility during the supervision period. This distinction arises because defers a finding of guilt, potentially leading to dismissal upon successful completion, preserving civil rights absent revocation. Provisional ballots, authorized under Election Code Chapter 63 for voters whose eligibility is uncertain (e.g., lacking immediate proof of qualification), require an accompanying in which the voter attests under penalty of to meeting all eligibility criteria, including absence of disenfranchisement. Such ballots are rejected if subsequent verification confirms ineligibility, and knowingly casting a provisional while ineligible constitutes illegal voting under § 64.012, a second-degree punishable by 2–20 years and fines up to $10,000. In , these provisions applied unchanged from prior years, with voter registrars required to cross-check records via data but allowing affected individuals 30 days to respond before cancellation.

Criminal Prosecution

Charges and Trial

In , Crystal Mason was indicted by a in 2017 for illegal voting, a second-degree offense under Texas Election Code § 276.013, which prohibits knowingly voting or attempting to vote while ineligible. The charge specifically alleged that on November 8, 2016, Mason knowingly cast a provisional in the general despite her ineligibility stemming from a 2012 federal conviction for misapplication of , for which she remained on supervised release—a status that suspended her voting rights under until full discharge of sentence, including any term of supervision. The case proceeded to a bench trial in the 432nd Judicial District Court of Tarrant County before Judge David Hagerman, as Mason waived her right to a jury trial. Prosecutors from the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office presented evidence including Mason's federal judgment of conviction, documents confirming her supervised release active through 2016, her 2013 voter registration cancellation due to felony status, the provisional ballot itself, and the accompanying sworn affidavit in which she affirmed her eligibility to vote under penalty of perjury. Election administrators testified that the ballot was rejected and not counted after verification confirmed her ineligibility, emphasizing that casting the provisional ballot constituted an attempt to vote under the statute. In her defense, Mason testified that she believed she had regained upon completing her five-year term in 2012 and was never explicitly informed of ongoing restrictions by federal officers or other authorities; she claimed ignorance of the supervised release implications and did not fully comprehend the affidavit's warnings. No , such as explicit warnings from officials, was introduced to prove she received notice of ineligibility, though prosecutors argued circumstantial knowledge from the and release conditions sufficed for . On March 28, 2018, the trial court convicted Mason, finding sufficient evidence that she possessed actual knowledge of her ineligibility and thus acted knowingly in attempting to vote, rejecting the defense claim of lack of intent.

Conviction and Sentencing

On March 29, 2018, following a bench trial in the 432nd District Court of Tarrant County, Texas, Crystal Mason was convicted of illegal voting under Texas Election Code § 276.013(a)(3), a second-degree felony punishable by two to twenty years' imprisonment. The conviction rested on evidence that Mason had signed a provisional ballot affidavit affirming she had "not been finally convicted of committing or attempting to commit a felony ... or if so convicted ... fully discharged my sentence including any term of incarceration, parole, supervision, period of probation, or I have been pardoned," despite remaining on federal supervised release for a prior felony conviction stemming from a 2011 bank fraud plea, which Texas law treats as incomplete discharge of sentence for voting eligibility purposes. State District Judge Ruben Gonzalez imposed a sentence of five years' confinement in the Institutional Division of the immediately after the guilty verdict. No fine or additional restitution was reported in court records or contemporaneous coverage. Mason remained free on bond pending , during which time her federal supervised release was revoked, resulting in several months' incarceration in for violating its terms by the voting incident. The Tarrant County Attorney's Office, led by Sharen Wilson at the time, defended the prosecution as necessary to enforce prohibiting voting by those not fully restored to eligibility.

Initial Appeal and Remand

Following her March 28, 2018, conviction for illegal voting under Election Code § 64.012(a)(1) and sentencing to five years' confinement, Crystal Mason appealed to the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth, docketed as No. 02-18-00138-CR. Mason raised four issues: the legal and factual sufficiency of evidence to support her conviction; whether the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) preempted the statute; ineffective assistance of trial counsel; and the statute's alleged vagueness. On March 19, 2020, the Second Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction in a memorandum opinion. The court held that sufficient evidence existed, including Mason's signed provisional ballot affidavit affirming she was eligible and her prior knowledge of voting restrictions from federal supervised release documents, to prove she knowingly voted while ineligible. It rejected HAVA preemption, reasoning that HAVA's provisional ballot provisions facilitate voter access without immunizing ineligible voters from state prosecution for knowingly voting. Claims of ineffective assistance failed for lack of deficient performance or prejudice, and the vagueness challenge was unpreserved for appellate review. No remand occurred at this stage. Mason filed a for discretionary review with the (CCA), docketed as PD-0881-20. On May 11, 2022, the CCA vacated the Second Court's judgment in part and remanded for further proceedings. The CCA clarified that § 64.012(a)(1) requires proof of actual subjective of ineligibility, not merely of potential ineligibility or recklessness; the Second Court had applied an erroneous objective standard by inferring from circumstances alone without direct evidence of Mason's awareness. It upheld that casting a provisional constitutes "voting" and rejected HAVA preemption but directed remand to reassess evidentiary sufficiency under the correct standard. The CCA noted Senate Bill 1 (2021), which amended the statute to eliminate of ineligibility as an element, did not retroactively apply to Mason's 2016 conduct.

2024 Acquittal and Subsequent Review

On March 28, , the Second Court of Appeals of reversed Crystal Mason's 2018 conviction for illegal voting and rendered a judgment of , determining that the was legally insufficient to prove beyond a that she intentionally violated § 276.013 by knowingly casting an ineligible ballot in the 2016 . The court's ruling followed a remand from the in 2022, which directed a sufficiency review under Jackson v. Virginia standards, excluding Mason's signed —attesting she had not been finally convicted of a —as standalone of knowledge without independent corroboration. No other direct , such as testimony from Mason's probation officer confirming she received notice of her voting ineligibility during , sufficiently established her awareness of ongoing restrictions at the time of voting, the opinion held. Tarrant County District Attorney's Office appealed the to the on April 25, 2024, contending that the intermediate appeals court improperly substituted its judgment for court's fact-finding by reweighing credibility and inferences from the documents, rather than deferring to the 's as required under legal sufficiency standards. The DA argued that the cumulative evidence, including Mason's prior voting experiences and the affidavit's warnings, supported an inference of knowledge that a reasonable could accept. On August 21, 2024, the Court of Criminal Appeals granted the petition for discretionary review (PDR), accepting the case for further examination of the sufficiency determination and the intermediate court's application of deference principles. Mason's defense, represented by the ACLU of Texas, national ACLU, and Texas Civil Rights Project, filed a merits brief on October 29, 2024, urging the court to affirm the by rejecting the prosecution's claims of evidentiary reweighing and emphasizing the absence of proof for the element. An amicus brief from a bipartisan group of former state and federal prosecutors, filed November 15, 2024, supported affirmance, asserting the original prosecution exemplified overreach in a good-faith provisional voting scenario without demonstrated intent. As of October 2025, the has not issued a final ruling on the PDR, leaving Mason's intact pending resolution; the case remains listed as active in state prosecutorial dockets.

Controversies

Claims of Prosecutorial Overreach

Critics of the prosecution, including voting rights advocates and some Republican lawmakers, have contended that the Attorney's office engaged in overreach by pursuing a without sufficient of Mason's of her ineligibility and by insisting on severe penalties for a provisional that was ultimately rejected and not counted. Mason testified that she did not read the eligibility she signed, which explicitly disqualified individuals with ongoing sentences including supervised release, and that her probation officer had not informed her of continued voting restrictions after completing ; defense arguments emphasized this as of an honest mistake rather than intentional . State Representative Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) argued that "if you make an honest mistake… you should not be put in jail for five years under those circumstances," reflecting claims that the case unfairly targeted perceived errors amid broader voter integrity efforts. In 2023, bipartisan state and federal prosecutors submitted an amicus brief to the Second of Appeals urging of the conviction, highlighting procedural issues and the absence of demonstrable harm since the had no impact on election outcomes. The , representing Mason, described the prosecution as an example of overzealous enforcement criminalizing democratic participation, though such advocacy groups prioritize expanding access and may downplay statutory requirements for eligibility affirmations. The district attorney's of the March 2024 acquittal—based on the trial court's failure to instruct the jury on the need to prove Mason knowingly voted while ineligible—has fueled assertions of persistent overreach aimed at deterrence rather than justice.

Arguments for Election Law Enforcement

Proponents of rigorous election law enforcement maintain that prosecutions like Crystal Mason's are essential to preserve the integrity of the electoral process by ensuring only eligible individuals participate. Election Code § 11.002 explicitly disqualifies persons serving any part of a sentence, including periods of supervised release, from voting. In Mason's 2016 case, she had completed her federal prison term for tax fraud but remained on supervised release, rendering her ineligible; her provisional ballot application required signing an affirming eligibility under penalty of law, which the state argued demonstrated knowing violation under § 276.013(a). Such enforcement deters potential by imposing consequences for false certifications, as provisional ballots—designed to resolve eligibility disputes—depend on truthful self-reporting to function effectively. Without for inaccuracies, the system risks erosion, as ineligible votes, even uncounted, could signal vulnerabilities exploitable in higher-stakes scenarios. The Tarrant County District Attorney's persistence, including appealing the 2024 appellate acquittal to the , reflects the position that evidentiary standards met at trial—such as Mason's prior conviction awareness and execution—warrant upholding convictions to affirm legal boundaries. Data from Texas elections underscores the necessity of targeted prosecutions: despite over 11 million votes cast in , investigations yielded few illegal voting convictions, suggesting enforcement focuses on verifiable intent rather than mass suppression. This selective approach counters claims of overreach by prioritizing cases with documented ineligibility and affirmative representations, thereby bolstering public trust through demonstrable adherence to statutory qualifications. Uniform application, irrespective of individual claims of ignorance, prevents subjective exceptions that could undermine causal links between eligibility verification and electoral legitimacy.

Public Response and Broader Impact

Media and Advocacy Coverage

Crystal Mason's case received extensive attention from outlets, which frequently portrayed her prosecution as an instance of voter intimidation or suppression targeting minority voters. For example, described Mason as "the face of voter suppression in America," emphasizing her provisional —never counted—and the lack of explicit warnings about her ineligibility due to from a prior conviction. Similarly, highlighted her story within broader narratives of voting restrictions post-2016, framing the conviction as part of efforts to deter participation among those with histories. Such coverage, often from sources exhibiting systemic left-leaning biases in election-related reporting, tended to prioritize claims of overreach over the state's evidence, including Mason's signed election affirming eligibility under penalty of . Following the March 28, 2024, acquittal by the Texas Second Court of Appeals—which ruled insufficient evidence proved Mason knowingly violated eligibility laws—outlets like The New York Times and Texas Tribune reported the reversal as correcting a prosecutorial error, with the latter noting the provisional ballot's rejection and the five-year sentence's reversal. NPR echoed this, underscoring the appeals court's finding on lack of intent evidence. Coverage diminished after the ruling but resurfaced in August 2024 when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed to review the acquittal at the Tarrant County District Attorney's request, with Texas Tribune and Houston Public Media framing it as potential renewed injustice. Advocacy organizations, particularly those focused on expanding voting access, rallied behind Mason, providing legal aid and public campaigns. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Texas Civil Rights Project partnered in 2019 to represent her on appeal, arguing the case exemplified intimidation of provisional voters and filing amicus briefs emphasizing due process violations. The ACLU celebrated the 2024 acquittal as a "major voting rights victory" and, in October 2024, urged the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm it, contending retrial would chill voter participation. The League of Women Voters tracked the case as a challenge to felony disenfranchisement enforcement, while the States United Democracy Center coordinated bipartisan former prosecutors' briefs in 2023 supporting acquittal on evidentiary grounds. These groups' efforts, rooted in advocacy for broader suffrage, contrasted with election integrity perspectives that viewed the original prosecution as necessary deterrence, though such views received less prominent media amplification. Post-acquittal, Mason positioned herself as a voting rights advocate, telling NBC News on March 29, 2024, that overturning her conviction reinforced her duty to promote access, particularly amid ongoing state review. Texas Monthly noted in May 2024 that even some Republican figures, including Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons, criticized the district attorney's persistence as overreach aimed at national voter fraud narratives.

Implications for Voter Integrity Debates

The Crystal Mason case illustrates key tensions in voter integrity debates surrounding the enforcement of eligibility restrictions for individuals with convictions. Election Code § 11.002(a)(4) explicitly disqualifies from voting anyone currently serving a sentence, including periods of supervised release, which applied to Mason in July 2016 when she cast a provisional ballot in the Republican primary runoff while under federal supervised release for . Provisional ballots, designed for voters facing eligibility disputes, require an affirming qualification under penalty of ; Mason's attestation that she met all requirements formed the basis of her charge under § 276.013 for knowingly or intentionally voting while ineligible. Advocates for rigorous verification protocols contend that prosecuting such instances, even when ballots are ultimately rejected as Mason's was, reinforces deterrence against ineligible participation, preserving legitimacy by addressing risks in self-reporting systems where discrepancies could erode public confidence if unaddressed. The 2024 acquittal by Texas's Second Court of Appeals, which found legally insufficient that Mason possessed actual knowledge of her disqualification—relying instead on her that she believed her restored post-incarceration—has amplified arguments that intent requirements under § 276.013 impose a high prosecutorial threshold, potentially complicating enforcement without eliminating the underlying ineligibility. This outcome underscores debates over in statutes: while it prevents convictions based solely on technical ineligibility without proven awareness, critics of lax standards argue it may encourage inadvertent or willful violations by reducing perceived risks, particularly amid varying state laws on restoration that demand full sentence completion, including supervision. The Tarrant County District Attorney's subsequent petition, accepted for review by the in August 2024, prolongs scrutiny of these evidentiary standards, highlighting how appellate reversals can fuel perceptions of uneven application in low-volume illegal voting cases, with recording only isolated prosecutions annually despite broader eligibility audits. In national contexts, Mason's protracted legal saga—spanning conviction in , remand, and —exemplifies challenges in balancing prevention with accessible provisional voting, informing post-2020 discussions on automating eligibility checks via criminal databases to minimize disputes. Empirical patterns show felony disenfranchisement affects millions nationwide, yet prosecutions like this remain rare, suggesting they serve more as clarifications of law than widespread ; however, selective media emphasis on the without detailing statutory disqualification has, per observer analyses, contributed to narratives questioning enforcement motives over systemic safeguards. Ultimately, the case reinforces calls for standardized, transparent restoration processes to align voter with legal realities, ensuring integrity without undue barriers for compliant citizens.

References

  1. https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/2022/pd-0881-20.html
  2. https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/second-court-of-appeals/2024/02-18-00138-cr.html
  3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-was-arrested-for-voting-but-i-wont-let-the-government-intimidate-me/2019/09/30/7b6261b8-dfbf-11e9-8dc8-498eabc129a0_story.html
  4. https://www.democracynow.org/2018/8/29/meet_crystal_mason_the_black_texas
  5. https://www.aclu.org/cases/crystal-mason-v-state-of-texas
  6. https://www.aclutx.org/sites/default/files/ccacrystalmason.pdf
  7. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-crystal-mason-became-the-face-of-voter-suppression-in-america
  8. https://texasscorecard.com/commentary/tarrant-county-woman-convicted-of-illegal-voting/
  9. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/EL/htm/EL.11.htm
  10. https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/laws/effects.shtml
  11. https://www.dallascountyvotes.org/news-announcements/2024/voting-with-a-felony-conviction/
  12. https://www.usvotefoundation.org/voting-rights-restoration/texas
  13. https://www.sll.texas.gov/faqs/felony-conviction-vote/
  14. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/EL/htm/EL.64.htm
  15. https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/election-code/elec-sect-64-012/
  16. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/tx-court-of-appeals/2054668.html
  17. https://www.texastribune.org/2018/03/29/texas-woman-sentenced-5-years-prison-voting-while-supervised-release/
  18. https://www.lwv.org/legal-center/mason-hobbs-v-texas
  19. https://www.npr.org/2024/03/29/1241615870/crystal-mason-texas-voting-acquitted
  20. https://www.statesman.com/story/news/state/2024/03/29/crystal-mason-conviction-reversed-acquitted-voting-texas-voter-fraud-case/73145136007/
  21. https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/25/crystal-mason-illegal-voting-texas-tarrant-county/
  22. https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/second-court-of-appeals/2020/02-18-00138-cr.html
  23. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/tx-court-of-appeals/115989752.html
  24. https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/content/dam/main/Criminal-District-Attorney/DA-Newsletters/news-releases/2024/Appealing_Ruling_For_Crystal_Mason.pdf
  25. https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/court-accepts-request-to-review-appeal-of-crystal-mason-acquittal
  26. https://www.aclutx.org/en/press-releases/crystal-mason-asks-highest-criminal-court-affirm-acquittal
  27. https://statesunited.org/mason-brief-nov-2024/
  28. https://spa.texas.gov/pending-pdr-cases/mason-crystal/
  29. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/crystal-mason-illegal-voting-conviction-appeal/
  30. https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/content/dam/main/Criminal-District-Attorney/DA-Newsletters/news-releases/2024/Appealing%20_Ruling_For_Crystal_%20Mason.pdf
  31. https://statesunited.org/acquittal-crystal-mason/
  32. https://www.aclutx.org/en/press-releases/texas-second-court-appeals-reverses-crystal-masons-conviction-major-voting-rights
  33. https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/28/texas-illegal-voting-conviction-crystal-mason/
  34. https://thehill.com/homenews/4622384-texas-prosecutor-appeals-ruling-that-tossed-crystal-masons-voting-fraud-conviction/
  35. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/EL/htm/EL.276.htm
  36. https://www.texastribune.org/2019/09/17/crystal-mason-five-year-illegal-voting-provisional-ballot/
  37. https://versustexas.com/blog/felony-voting-rights/
  38. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2024/jun/10/crystal-mason-voting-intimidation
  39. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/28/us/politics/crystal-mason-texas-voting-acquitted.html
  40. https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/22/texas-crystal-mason-tarrant-county-voting-acquittal/
  41. https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/voting/2024/08/22/497556/court-agrees-to-review-crystal-masons-acquittal-after-appeal-from-tarrant-county-da/
  42. https://www.aclutx.org/en/press-releases/aclu-and-texas-civil-rights-project-partner-represent-crystal-mason
  43. https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/texas-second-court-of-appeals-reverses-crystal-masons-conviction-in-major-voting-rights-victory
  44. https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/civil-rights-attorneys-urge-court-to-uphold-crystal-masons-acquittal-in-fraud-case/3684918/
  45. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/crystal-mason-says-duty-continue-voting-rights-advocacy-rcna145680
  46. https://www.tarrantcountytx.gov/en/commissioner-2/news/2024/simmons-says-da-over-reaching-in-crystal-mason-case.html
  47. https://guides.sll.texas.gov/reentry-resources/voting
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