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Here’s What Happened When 3 White People Committed Voter Fraud Vs. A Black Texas Woman 

Posted byBy Tanasia Kenney | Published on: CommentsComments (0)
Crystal Mason

Crystal Mason, 43, had previously served a three-year sentence for tax fraud and was on supervised release when she cast her ballot. (Image courtesy of the Tarrant County Jail)

Texas woman Crystal Mason, 43, was sentenced to five years in prison on Wednesday for unknowingly committing voter fraud by voting in the 2016 election. Three white people charged with the same crime weren’t remanded to a jail cell, however.

Mason, a Black mother of two, was on supervised release for a prior fraud conviction when she cast her ballot in the presidential election. She said no one informed her that she was barred from voting until her sentence was completed. Now, she’s headed back to prison.

The outcome was much different for other folks who voted illegally.

A North Carolina woman cast a vote for President Donald Trump on behalf of her mother, who had recently died. The grieving woman claimed she had no idea she couldn’t vote on behalf of a dead person. No charges were ever filed in that case, Raw Story reported.

“This woman is 67 years old and has never run afoul of the law for anything more serious than a speeding ticket,” District Attorney David Learner said in a statement. “It’s not in the public’s interest to charge her with this felony offense.”

Over in Iowa, a woman named Terri Lynn Rote tried to vote for Trump twice. Her excuse? She believed Trump when he claimed the “election is rigged,” so she cast a second vote out of fear that her first one would be changed to support Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Rote was let off with probation and a $750 fine.

A former Republican party chair in Colorado was slapped with three years of probation and 300 hours of community service after he admitted to mailing in a ballot on his wife’s behalf. He blamed the mistake on a “major diabetic episode” and claimed he had no recollection of filling out the ballot.

Despite these similar fraudster cases, Mason was the only one to receive jail time.

Coincidence? We think not.

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