Texas woman triumphs as court upholds acquittal in voting error case
Crystal Mason has spent nearly a decade fighting conviction for casting provisional ballot that ultimately wasn’t counted
TL;DR
- Crystal Mason has been acquitted in a controversial illegal voting case after nearly a decade of legal battles.
- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld a lower court's acquittal, reversing its earlier decision to hear an appeal.
- Mason was convicted in 2018 for casting a provisional ballot while on supervised release for a federal tax felony, which was not counted.
- She maintained it was an innocent mistake and that she did not knowingly cast an ineligible ballot.
- The case drew outrage due to the severity of her sentence and concerns about voter suppression.
- The acquittal is seen as a victory for voting rights, allowing citizens to participate without fear of imprisonment.
- Four justices dissented, believing there was sufficient evidence that Mason knew she was ineligible.