I’ve posted numerous voting fraud stories on this blog. Nearly all involve Trump supporters who knowingly and intentionally voted in two states, or voted the ballot of a dead spouse or parent. I’m not picking on Republicans; they’re who’s committing the voting fraud.
All got off with misdemeanor convictions and sentences of community service and fines. In my original story about Crystal Mason (here), a black woman in Texas, I pointed out she got the same 5-year prison sentence as a Capitol rioter who assaulted cops.
Even if she’s guilty of voting fraud, that’s harsh and exceptional. But Mason didn’t vote twice, or even once; she cast a provisional ballot, which anyone is allowed to do, because a pollworker told her she could, and it wasn’t even counted. Nor did her parole officer tell her she wasn’t eligible to vote. State prosecutors went after her anyway. With a vengeance. This case has been in Texas courts for eight years, they’re still pursuing her.
A Texas court threw out her conviction, which should end this saga, but a D.A. who got elected by campaigning as a “conservative Republican” (quoted from his website here) is appealing to reinstate her conviction and sentence (read his appeal here). Why would anyone go to such lengths to send someone confused about her voting eligibility, who cast a provisional ballot that wasn’t counted, to prison? Let’s be honest about this, she’s being targeted for “voting while black.”
Not surprisingly, “Many voting rights groups see the prosecution of Mason … as a clear example of voter intimidation” (read story here). Its purpose is to frighten blacks into not voting, by sending a message that any small mistake could get them years in prison. Jim Crow is alive and well in Texas. Americans who love freedom should be angry and outraged.