There’s a great Op-Ed in the Washington Post from Crystal Mason. In 2016, newly released from prison she followed a family tradition of voting, went to the polls, and received a provisional ballot. Unfortunately, nobody had told her that she was ineligible to vote until she had completed her federal supervised release.
Because of her mistake she was convicted for voter fraud and sent back to prison. Her provisional ballot was not counted, so her “illegal voting” had absolutely no affect on any race.
As opposed to one of her neighbors, whose voter fraud was different in intent and outcome:
… voter fraud … [comes] from people such as Russ Casey, Tarrant County’s now-former justice of the peace, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to forging signatures to get his name on the ballot during his reelection campaign. Casey would have benefited from the position’s power if he had gotten away with the fraud. Yet he was given just a slap on the wrist: five years of probation and no jail time.
It’s a travesty that Ms. Mason was sent back to jail for her mistake — and the mistake of the system for not explaining when her voting rights would be returned. But Texas has been on a “voter fraud” warpath — so a scapegoat just had to be found.
The good news is that there are a few silver linings.
First, Ms. Mason is now a voting rights advocate. The more people voting the better. The most emotional experience I’ve had being a deputy voter registrar was registering an ex-felon that did not know he was eligible to vote again.
Second, Ms. Mason’s case may have gotten the state and/or feds to better inform ex-felons of their voting rights. The first time she was released she was not aware she could not vote until she was off supervision. This time she was released, she was informed.
Finally, Ms. Mason’s a witness to the fact that the kids are alright:
I had a voter-registration table there for younger adults. It was a party with a purpose. I see hope in the new up-and-coming generation. They’re loud, and they speak out about their rights. They’re making noise in a good way, because they know in their hearts that if our votes didn’t matter, the system wouldn’t be trying so hard to stop us.