A #Texas appeals court reversed the conviction of #CrystalMason, a Black woman, who had been sentenced to 5 yrs in prison on a charge of illegally voting in 2016, acquitting her in a case that #CivilRights attys cast as part of a broader fight for #VotingRights.
Mason voted w/a provisional ballot in 2016 but did not know she was ineligible to do so. The ballot WAS NOT COUNTED, but she was convicted in 2018.
@Nonilex ...what's nagging me is how, why, who managed to present these facts - most/all clearly known at trial date - which then lead to a conviction and egregious sentence, rather than having this tossed out and a reprimand issued the prosecutor's office for bringing such a flawed case to court.....
#Texas 2nd Court of Appeals Judge Wade Birdwell ruled that there was not enough evidence to show #CrystalMason had known she was ineligible to vote.
The case had been seen as an example of a #GOP-led crackdown on alleged [BS] voter fraud in TX, & Mason’s attys framed it as an attempt at intimidating other voters, particularly people of color & those returning from prison, by making an example of Mason. #law#ElectionLaw#VoterIntimidation#VoteSuppression#BlackVotesMatter#democracy#VoteBlue
#CrystalMason, a fmr tax preparer, had served a prison sentence for fed tax fraud after pleading guilty to inflating her clients’ tax returns in 2012 & was on supervised release in 2016.
She didn’t know that made her ineligible to vote when she cast a provisional ballot at her polling place in #Texas. She went to vote w/her family & was told by a poll worker that she wasn’t on the rolls but could fill out a provisional ballot. #law#GOP#VoterIntimidation#BlackVotesMatter#democracy#VoteBlue
She had no idea she would soon be indicted on a charge of illegal voting. She later said that she would not have jeopardized her freedom by submitting a ballot & would have left the polling place if she’d known she wasn’t allowed to vote. #Election workers checking provisional ballots — as is routine — later determined Mason was ineligible, so her ballot was never counted.