In Texas, criminal charges and misdemeanor convictions do not automatically result in the loss of the right to vote

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After voting in Tarrant County in the 2016 presidential election while on supervised release for tax fraud, Crystal Mason became a national figure in an ongoing conflict between voting rights activists and officials who took a hard line against illegal voting.

Mason was sentenced to five years in prison for illegally casting a provisional vote in that election, even though she said she did not know that her criminal status made her ineligible to vote. A legal battle over her conviction is underway. But experts say the high-profile political uproar surrounding her case continues to discourage eligible voters in Texas who have been arrested, convicted of misdemeanors or serving prison sentences from voting — even though they are legally allowed to participate in elections. “People think that just because they were arrested they are going to lose their right to vote,” said Bob Libal, a criminal defense attorney in Texas who works nationwide to restore voting rights for people with convictions.

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

This election cycle, there may be no more prominent example of someone retaining their right to vote after being accused or convicted of a crime than the Republican presidential candidate. Former President Donald Trump will still be able to vote in Florida despite being convicted of 34 state crimes in New York, making him the first convicted felon to run for president.

That’s because Florida, where Trump remains a resident, follows the laws of the state where the conviction occurred, and New York law only bars people convicted of felonies from voting while they are incarcerated . Trump’s sentencing was postponed until after the election.

According to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, about 55,000 people in Texas are awaiting trial in county jails and are eligible to vote. That doesn’t mean it’s easy for them to cast their vote.

Only in Dallas and Harris counties will polling places be open to incarcerated people on Election Day. And while people in prison can apply for an early absentee ballot under Texas law, the application for an absentee ballot must be submitted on October 25th. Because of this deadline, people arrested after this date and before Election Day will no longer have the opportunity to cast a ballot.

It’s not easy to access a vote by mail while incarcerated. In some counties, advocacy groups visit the jail to distribute the forms. In other counties, people don’t even know they can ask for the form. The Secretary of State’s Office does not track how many people in prison request to vote by mail.

“A lot of people push the narrative that if you have a criminal background 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 that first in the state to create a prison-based electoral program in 2021. Election officials are setting up voting machines at the county jail, with the polling place open to the general public, a legal requirement. Jail staff will transport inmates who wish to vote to the polling location throughout Election Day.

Harris County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Phillip Bosquez said inmates do not need ID to vote. You simply show a poll worker your wristband, which has your name and date of birth on it, and then cast your vote.

“I’m glad we were the first in Texas to do this,” Bosquez said. “And I am absolutely confident that it can be replicated without putting much strain on the system.”

Texas lawmakers filed a lawsuit last year The invoice that would ban polling places in prisons, but the legislation never passed. The bill’s author, Rep. Valoree SwansonR-Spring, did not respond to inquiries about why she carried the bill.

Colorado this year became the first state to pass a law requiring counties to set up polling places in prisons. The new law also requires prisons to set up a place to deposit mail-in ballots.

Advocates say laws like Colorado’s will make it easier for incarcerated people to transition back into their communities and reduce recidivism rates.

“It really makes people feel like they are part of their community and involved in it,” Ross said. “The most consistent feedback is that it’s a way for them to think differently about how they can do better and how they can contribute to their communities.”

Research found that people whose right to vote was restored after incarceration were less likely to be rearrested than people who were disenfranchised.

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

But the different rules in different places only add to the confusion and can prevent people with criminal charges or convictions from voting, even if they are legally allowed to do so.

“One of the challenges is that there is an extremely confusing patchwork of laws across the country when it comes to voting rights for people with felony convictions,” Libal said.

In March, an appeals court in Texas overturned Mason’s convictionacquitted her of felony charges, seemingly putting an end to the eight-year saga. The court said there was no evidence that Mason knew she was ineligible to vote, a condition that must be met to convict someone of illegally voting in Texas.

However, the following month, Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells announced that he wanted Mason’s conviction restored. Sorrell’s office argued that Mason’s conviction was fair, pointing to testimony from election officials that Mason signed an affidavit requiring individuals to swear, “If I am a felon, I have served my entire sentence, including any prison time.” , suspended sentences, supervision periods, etc. “Probation, or I was pardoned.”

“I want potential illegal voters to know that we are watching,” Sorrell told county commissioners during a briefing in May about why he was bringing up the case again.

The state and Mason’s attorneys have filed briefs with the Court of Criminal Appeals. Mason’s lawyers argue that the court should reaffirm the decision to acquit Mason on the grounds that she had no idea she was ineligible to vote. A final decision in Mason’s case could take months, said Savannah Kumar, an attorney representing her.

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