TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — A North Texas woman who got a win fighting her voter fraud conviction is back in battle again.
The Attorney for Crystal Mason has 30 days to respond to an appeal to her overturned conviction in the case. This latest move has put Mason on an emotional rollercoaster.
"I'm mad, I'm frustrated, and I'm just overwhelmed," Mason said.
Mason says she's overwhelmed even with her short-lived victory with the voter fraud conviction overturned earlier this year. The District Attorney is challenging her recent acquittal, insisting she committed a crime.
"Where is my intention to commit a crime? I thought I was eligible to vote," said Mason.
But Tarrant County DA Phil Sorrells argues Mason knew she was not eligible. She was convicted of voter fraud after casting a provisional ballot in 2016.
Mason was still on Federal supervised release for conspiracy to defraud the United States. Still, the Court of Appeals reversed her conviction saying prosecutors failed to prove she knew casting a provisional ballot was illegal due to her probation status.
During the Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting on May 7, Sorrells testified one of his goals was to send the message that people caught cheating at the polls in Tarrant County would be prosecuted by his office.
"It's not just about this one case, but it's every case in the state of Texas that goes on appeal on sufficiency," said Sorrells.
Sorrells challenge isn't a surprise to Appellate Court expert Michael Casillas, who has years of experience as an attorney with the London and London Law Firm in Dallas.
"It would be quite interesting to see what the final decision would be. But it's kind of rare for the Court of Criminal Appeals to pick up a case just to tell a court of appeals, yes, you got it right," said Casillas.
Mason's attorney Kim Cole argues the DA is wasting taxpayer money. She believes Sorrells failed to mention facts of Mason's case when he addressed the commissioner's court Tuesday.
"This case has been tried. It has been appealed. It has been appealed again. It has been sent back down. It is being appealed again," said Cole.
Sorrells revealed he's investigating 5 other people for voter fraud. Sorrells didn't provide details because so far there are no charges filed against anyone. He denies that prosecuting people for voter fraud has anything to do with voter suppression. Instead, the DA argues it's about voter integrity.
"What we want to keep away from the polls are those that are trying to vote illegally. If you're a registered voter eligible to vote, come on. We want you to come and vote," said Sorrells, "We're watching, and we're going to make sure that if we catch you, we're going to prosecute you."
DA Sorrells said after a decision is made by the court in his latest motion, he will accept what the court rules.