Texas court ordered to reconsider decision to uphold prison sentence for woman who voted

Crystal Mason was sentenced to five years in prison for casting a provisional ballot in the 2016 election

A Texas appeals court must reconsider its decision to uphold a five-year conviction for Crystal Mason, the Texas woman sentenced to prison for casting a provisional ballot in the 2016 election, the state's highest criminal court ruled on Wednesday.

Mason showed up to the polls to vote in 2016, while on supervised release - which is similar to probation - for a federal tax felony. She cast a provisional ballot at the urging of election workers, which was ultimately rejected because people with felony convictions in Texas cannot vote while they are serving any part of a federal sentence.