Texas court leaves Crystal Mason’s acquittal intact in disputed voting case

The ruling ends a legal battle that began after Mason was convicted for casting a provisional ballot while ineligible.

Crystal Mason’s nearly decade-long legal battle over a provisional ballot has ended after Texas’ highest criminal court left her acquittal in place, closing a case that began with the 2016 presidential election.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Thursday that it had improperly agreed to review the state’s challenge to Mason’s acquittal. In a 5-4 decision, the court dismissed the prosecution’s petition as “improvidently granted,” meaning it did not reach the underlying question of whether Mason knowingly voted while ineligible.

The Guardian reported that Mason was originally convicted in 2018 and sentenced to five years after casting a provisional ballot in Tarrant County. The ballot was ultimately rejected and never counted.

At the time, Mason was on federal supervised release following a tax fraud conviction. Texas law bars people in that status from voting. Mason has consistently maintained that she did not know she was prohibited from voting and said she was never properly informed of the restriction.

The case turned heavily on that question of knowledge. In 2024, a Fort Worth appeals court overturned Mason’s conviction, finding that prosecutors had failed to establish the required mental state. The state then asked Texas’ highest criminal court to review the decision.

Thursday’s ruling leaves that acquittal intact. Four judges dissented, arguing that the trial evidence was sufficient to support a finding that Mason knew she was ineligible. Judge Lee Finley, joined by Judge Gina Parker, said the evidence supported the conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.

Mason spent 10 months in federal prison as a consequence of the original conviction. During that period, her family faced significant disruption, including financial pressure that nearly resulted in the loss of her home.

Following the ruling, Mason described the end of the case as the closing of a “nightmare” and expressed hope that her experience would encourage people to participate in elections.

Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells, whose office pursued the case, defended the prosecution and said election laws must continue to be enforced when evidence supports a violation.