In Texas, criminal charges and misdemeanor convictions do not automatically disqualify people from voting

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After Crystal Mason cast her ballot in the 2016 Tarrant County presidential election while on supervised release for tax fraud, she became a national figure in the ongoing conflict between voting rights advocates and officials fiercely opposed to illegal voting.

Mason was sentenced to five years in prison for illegally casting a provisional ballot in that election, even though she claims she didn’t realize she was ineligible to vote due to her criminal status. There is an ongoing legal battle over her conviction. But experts say the high-profile political firestorm surrounding her case continues to dissuade eligible voters in Texas who have been arrested, convicted of misdemeanors or have completed felony sentences from casting ballots — even though they can legally participate in the election. “People feel they are losing their right to vote simply because they have been arrested,” said Bob Libal, a criminal justice advocate in Texas who works nationally to restore voting rights to people with convictions.

Texas law prohibits convicted felons who are still serving their sentences, including parole, community supervision and probation, from voting. However, Texans can still cast ballots if they have been convicted of a misdemeanor (even if they are currently serving a sentence) or are in jail awaiting trial for any crime. And, under little-known election law, Texas felons who are actively appealing their convictions can legally voteeven if they are in prison.

In the current election campaign, there is perhaps no more high-profile example of a person retaining their right to vote after being charged or convicted of a crime than a Republican presidential candidate. Former President Donald Trump will still be able to cast a ballot in Florida even though he was convicted of 34 state crimes in New York, making him the first convicted felon to run for president.

That’s because Florida, where Trump is a permanent resident, follows the laws of the state where his conviction occurred, and New York law only prevents people convicted of crimes from voting while in prison. Trump’s sentencing was postponed until after the election.

According to data from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, approximately 55,000 people in Texas are awaiting trial and eligible to vote in county jails. However, this does not mean that it is easy for them to vote.

Only in Dallas and Harris counties are polls open to incarcerated people on Election Day. And while incarcerated people can apply to vote early by mail under Texas law, an absentee ballot request must be submitted by Oct. 25. During this period, people arrested after this date and before Election Day are not allowed to cast a ballot.

Accessing a postal voting application while serving a sentence is not easy. In some counties, support groups visit the jail to hand out forms. In other counties, people don’t even realize they can request the form. The Secretary of State’s office does not track how many people in prison request an absentee ballot.

“A lot of people say that if you have a criminal record you can’t vote,” said Jasmine Ross, who works for the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition. “That’s true in some states, but we don’t practice permanent disenfranchisement here.”

Harris County was first in the state establishing a prison voting program in 2021. Election officials set up voting machines at the county jail, with the polling place open to the public, a legal requirement. Prison staff transport inmates who choose to vote to the polls throughout Election Day.

“I’m glad we were the first in Texas to do this,” said Phillip Bosquez, chief deputy with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. “And I absolutely think it can be reproduced without putting a huge strain on the system.”

Texas lawmakers introduced a proposal last year Bill it would have banned polling places in prisons, but the legislation never gained traction. Author of the bill, MP. Valoree SwansonR-Spring, did not respond to questions about why she was carrying the bill.

Meanwhile, Colorado became the first state this year to pass a law requiring counties to provide polling places located in prisons. The new law also requires prisons to provide a place to deposit absentee ballots.

Supporters say laws like Colorado’s will help incarcerated people better re-enter their communities and reduce recidivism rates.

“It really makes people feel like they participate and are engaged in their community,” Ross said. “The most consistent feedback is that it is a way for them to change their thinking about how they can do better and how they can contribute to their communities.”

Tests found that people whose voting rights were restored after serving their sentences were less likely to be rearrested compared to people who were banned from voting.

Other states have also taken action to restore voting rights. In 2023, Minnesota and New Mexico restored the right to vote to people on parole or probation for a crime. In 2020, Washington passed a law allowing people incarcerated for a crime to vote.

However, differing rules in different places only add to the confusion that can prevent people charged or convicted from voting, even if they are legally allowed to do so.

“One of the challenges is the extremely unclear patchwork of laws across the country when it comes to the voting rights of people convicted of crimes,” Libal said.

In March, the Texas Court of Appeals overturned Mason’s sentenceacquitting her of the crime and seemingly ending an eight-year saga. The court said there was no evidence that Mason knew she was ineligible to vote, a requirement that must be met to convict someone of voting illegally in Texas.

But the following month, Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells announced that he wanted Mason’s conviction reinstated. Sorrell’s office argued that Mason was justly sentenced, citing testimony from election staff that showed Mason signed an affidavit requiring individuals to swear that “if a felon, I have served the entire sentence, including deprivation of liberty, parole, supervision, period of imprisonment, probation period or I have been pardoned.

“I want potential illegal voters to know that we are watching,” Sorrell told county commissioners during a May briefing why he was revisiting the issue.

Lawyers for the state and Mason filed briefs with the Court of Criminal Appeals. Mason’s lawyers argue that the court should uphold the decision to acquit Mason, arguing that she had no idea she was not eligible to vote. It could take months to make a final decision in Mason’s case, said Savannah Kumar, the attorney representing her.

“It’s important to remember that the highest criminal court in Texas has already made clear that innocent mistakes are not enough to send Texans to prison,” Kumar said.

Adjustment, October 31, 2024 at 18:06: :

This story previously included incorrect information about the ID Harris County Jail inmates can present to vote at the jail. This information was provided by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. After initial publication, a Harris County spokesman said all voters, including inmates, must provide identification as specified in the Texas Election Code.