Texas's Highest Criminal Court Upholds Acquittal of Crystal Mason in Voting Case

Texas's highest criminal court has upheld the acquittal of Crystal Mason, a Black Texas woman who was sentenced to five years in prison over an illegal voting conviction, according to The Guardian. The Thursday ruling, decided 5-4, brings to a close a case Mason has fought for nearly a decade.

Mason was convicted in 2018 of illegally voting after casting a provisional ballot that ultimately was not counted. She has appealed the conviction since then. In 2024, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals acquitted her in the case, according to The Guardian, and Thursday's ruling by the state's highest criminal court affirmed that outcome.

A case that drew national attention

Mason's prosecution drew significant national attention as an example of a voter facing severe criminal penalties over a ballot that was never actually counted, a pattern voting rights advocates have pointed to when arguing that some illegal-voting prosecutions have disproportionately targeted Black voters. The Guardian's report did not detail the full legal reasoning behind the 5-4 decision or the positions of the dissenting judges.

The Guardian's report did not include a statement from Mason or from the prosecutors who originally brought the case following Thursday's decision.