Crystal Mason v. State of Texas
What's at Stake
Crystal Mason thought she was performing her civic duty by filling out a provisional ballot in the 2016 election. She didn't know it would land her a five-year prison sentence, upending her family and the life she had built. At the time, Ms. Mason was on federal supervised release, a preliminary period of freedom for individuals who have served their full time of incarceration in federal prison. Ms. Mason didn’t know, and nobody told her, that the state considered her ineligible to vote while on supervised release. Because her name didn’t appear on voter rolls, she filed a provisional ballot, consistent with federal law. The state never counted her ballot but has still sought to send her to prison for an innocent mistake.
Summary
The State of Texas prosecuted Crystal Mason for the crime of “illegal voting,” which bars someone who “votes or attempts to vote in an election in which the person knows [they are] not eligible to vote.” Ms. Mason cast a provisional ballot in the 2016 election while under federal supervised release, which Texas claims makes her ineligible to vote. Her provisional ballot was never counted, and Ms. Mason cast it on the suggestion of a pollworker. She did not know that the state considered her ineligible to vote at the time but was still convicted in March 2018 and sentenced to serve five years in state prison.
As Ms. Mason has said: “I thought I was performing my civic duty and followed the election process by filling out a provisional ballot.”
The ACLU and ACLU of Texas began representing Ms. Mason in 2019 in her appeal of her conviction along with the co-counsel the Texas Civil Rights Project, Kim T. Cole, and Alison Grinter. In March 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Second District of Texas at Fort Worth affirmed Ms. Mason’s conviction. She then appealed the ruling before Texas’s highest criminal court.
In May 2022, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed that the state’s election code requires prosecutors to prove that a voter realizes they are ineligible to cast a ballot to be criminally liable for “illegal voting.” The court sent Crystal Mason’s case back to the Court of Appeals for further review and in April 2023, the Second Court of Appeals heard arguments on remand.
On March 28, 2024, the Second Court of Appeals reversed Crystal Mason's conviction, resulting in a full acquittal. "I was thrown into this fight for voting rights and will keep fighting to ensure no one else has to face what I've endured for over six years," said Ms. Mason, "a political ploy where minority rights are under attack."
UPDATE: On April 25, 2024, the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office announced that it would ask the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse the recent decision to overturn Crystal Mason's illegal voting conviction.
Legal Documents
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10/29/2024
Appellants' Brief on the Merits -- Court of Criminal Appeals -
09/13/2024
State's Brief on the Merits -- Court of Criminal Appeals -
03/28/2024
Order Reversing Conviction -- Court of Appeals Second District of Texas -
05/02/2023
Post Submission Letter Brief -- Court of Appeals Second District of Texas -
02/10/2023
Crystal Mason Reply on Remand -- Court of Appeals Second District of Texas -
11/22/2022
State's Brief on Remand -- Court of Appeals Second District of Texas -
10/14/2022
Brief on Remand -- Court of Appeals Second District of Texas -
05/11/2022
Ruling remanding Ms. Mason’s appeal to the Court of Appeals -- Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas -
12/17/2021
State's Response to Ms. Mason's Supplemental Brief -- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals -
12/07/2021
Ms. Mason's Supplemental Brief -- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals -
07/23/2021
Ms. Mason's Reply Brief -- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals -
07/07/2021
State's Brief on the Merits -- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals -
05/18/2021
Ms. Mason's Brief on the Merits -- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals -
12/01/2020
Ms. Mason's Petition for Discretionary Review -- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals -
03/19/2020
Opinion -- Court of Appeals Second District of Texas -
07/01/2019
Ms. Mason's Reply Brief -- Court of Appeals Second District of Texas -
05/23/2018
Amicus Brief of the ACLU in Support of Crystal Mason -- Tarrant County Criminal Court
Date Filed: 10/29/2024
Affiliate: Texas
Download DocumentDate Filed: 09/13/2024
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Download DocumentDate Filed: 03/28/2024
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Download DocumentDate Filed: 05/02/2023
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Download DocumentDate Filed: 02/10/2023
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Download DocumentDate Filed: 11/22/2022
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Download DocumentDate Filed: 12/17/2021
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Download DocumentDate Filed: 07/23/2021
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Download DocumentDate Filed: 05/18/2021
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Download DocumentDate Filed: 12/01/2020
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Download DocumentDate Filed: 07/01/2019
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Download DocumentDate Filed: 05/23/2018
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Download DocumentPress Releases
Crystal Mason’s Legal Team Appeals Illegal Voting Conviction
ACLU, TCRP File Amicus in Tarrant County Voter Prosecution Case