The decade-long litigation of a Fort Worth woman accused of illegally voting in 2016 was resolved last week, but her fight lives on until the Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells is unseated.
Crystal Mason, a mother and grandmother who cast a provisional ballot in Tarrant County 10 years ago while ineligible to vote, saw her case resolved Sept. 24 by the highest criminal court in the state. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed state prosecutors’ appeal of her acquittal in a 5-4 decision.
Crystal Mason attends a press conference marking the dismissal by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals of a decade-old illegal voting case against her on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in front of the Tarrant County Courthouse. Amanda McCoy FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
“Today we celebrate victory, but next we’re coming for accountability,” Pamela Young, executive director of United Fort Worth, said Monday. “We’re coming for accountability, and that starts Oct. 19 through 29 with early voting. We can be a part of that accountability by kicking Phil Sorrells right out the door.”
In 2024, District Attorney Sorrells asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to convict Mason of voting illegally and send a message to all “would-be illegal voters.” She was initially found guilty by the 432nd Judicial District Court in 2018, but the ruling was overturned by the Second Court of Appeals.
Mason, who lived in Rendon at the time, used a provisional ballot while on supervised release for a 2012 tax fraud conviction. The vote did not count, but she faced five years in prison for casting the provisional ballot.
“The facts are undisputed that Crystal Mason was on federal felony probation when she cast her illegal ballot. That’s against the law,” Sorrells said in a comment Monday. “Elections are the cornerstone of our democracy and anyone who attacks them with an illegal vote will be prosecuted.”
Mason’s defense attorney Alison Grinter Allen said when she and Mason first met, Mason was determined never to vote again. Once Mason realized everyone involved in her case was elected, her attitude reversed, and she became an “evangelist for the ballot box.”
Crystal Mason’s criminal defense attorney Alison Grinter speaks during a press conference on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in front of the Tarrant County Courthouse. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the state prosecutors’ appeal of Mason’s earlier acquittal of an illegal voting charge. Amanda McCoy FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
“Anyone who knows Crystal Mason, first of all, knows that they are registered to vote,” Grinter Allen said. “But second of all, has been absolutely bowled over by her faith and her optimism that Texas can be the place that we deserve, and that it can happen slowly, it can happen peacefully, it can happen at the ballot box.”
Mason created a voter outreach program called Crystal Mason: The Fight Against Voter Suppression in an effort to get more people to the polls and educate individuals about their eligibility to vote. Now, her entire family is made up of deputy voter registrars.
Democrat Commissioner Alisa Simmons said the Republicans leading Tarrant County have been trying their hardest to scare voters away from casting a ballot. Simmons is running for county judge against the Republican incumbent Tim O’Hare.
“Know this: justice has not been realized for Crystal Mason until you go to the polls and vote out that district attorney, those county commissioners, and might I say county judge, who have supported this type of activity,” she said.
Crystal Mason, right, hugs Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simons during a press conference marking the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissal of a decade-old illegal voting case against Crystal Mason on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in front of the Tarrant County Courthouse. Amanda McCoy FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
This story was originally published September 28, 2026 at 3:27 PM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.