The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will review the case of Crystal Mason, a Black mother who was sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to cast a provisional ballot in the 2016 election when she was ineligible to vote. At the time, Mason was on supervised release for a tax felony and was unaware that this barred her from casting a ballot. Her ballot was never actually counted. Mason’s conviction was already overturned, and she was acquitted earlier this year, but Tarrant County’s conservative district attorney appealed the decision. Crystal Mason appeared on Democracy Now! in 2018.

Amy Goodman: “Crystal, do you ever plan to vote again?”

Crystal Mason: “I do. I do. And that’s what I’m encouraging my kids, to get out there so we can make a difference right now. I do. I just feel right now that the system failed me. You get out, you rehabilitate yourself, you get a good job, you go to school, you graduate from school, you’re doing everything right — so, why would I go and vote, to go back to prison?”