Hi ACLU Supporter –

Tomorrow, we'll be on our way to court to defend Crystal Mason, a Black mother of three who was sentenced to five years in prison for submitting a ballot in the 2016 presidential election.

At the time of the election, Crystal was on federal supervised release, a preliminary period of freedom after incarceration. Nobody told her that Texas considered her ineligible to vote – and it isn't even clear under the law that she was, in fact, ineligible. But the state says she should have known anyway, and arrested her after she cast a provisional ballot.

If you think this sentence is as outrageous as we do, pledge to support Crystal as we appeal her case, along with our partners at the Texas Civil Rights Project.

This case is about so much more than one provisional ballot.

Crystal's case is part of a larger pattern that we've seen play out time and time again: laws supposedly about protecting election integrity wielded to suppress the vote. It's a window into how the myth of voter fraud is weaponized to keep Black and brown people shut out from our democracy. Even for the so-called "crime" of submitting a provisional ballot that was never even counted.

Take the pledge to show your support for Crystal Mason in the face of this injustice. Your support could be the difference it takes to win her case.

Thanks for your support,

Dale Ho
Director of the ACLU Voting Rights Project