Woman convicted of illegal voting ordered to federal prison

FORT WORTH, Texas – A North Texas woman convicted in state court of illegal voting has been sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for violating her parole from a fraud case by casting a ballot.

Crystal Mason was sentenced to five years in state prison after pleading guilty in March to voting illegally in the 2016 presidential election. She was on supervised release from the federal fraud case after having served three years in prison and state law prohibits voting by a person still serving a sentence for a crime.

The 43-year-old Rendon, Texas, woman had been free on bond while appealing the state sentence, but U.S. District Judge John McBryde sentenced her Thursday for violating the terms of her supervised release that prohibited her from voting.