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She was convicted of illegal voting, but thatâs not why she might be going to prison

Crystal Mason, middle, convicted for illegal voting and sentenced to five years in prison, is shown sitting in a Texas court on May 25, 2018. | Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram / Getty

The wife of Herschel Walker voted in Georgia for the 2020 election even though the Texas resident was apparently ineligible to do so, suggesting that she may have illegally cast her ballot.

There is irony at play here on multiple levels as Walker, 59, has maintained despite widespread proof to the contrary that Donald Trump lost the election to Joe Biden as the result of election fraud — the same kind of election fraud his wife, Julie Blanchard, may have committed.

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Perhaps even more concerning to Walker and his wife, who is white, is the fact that Crystal Mason, who is Black and also from Texas, was famously sentenced to five years in prison for casting a provisional ballot in Texas for the 2016 election, when Trump won.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s exclusive report on Blanchard’s questionable electoral activities noted that it is “illegal for nonresidents to vote in Georgia in most circumstances.”

Mason, however, was not given the benefit of any doubt and in 2018 was sent to prison.

Her conviction suggested that there is no judicial discretion for cases of mistaken voting.

Crystal Mason’s conviction

Mason has maintained all along that she was unaware of a state mandate that barred persons with convictions from voting.

Mason was out on supervised parole in 2016 when she stood in line to submit a provisional ballot in the 2016 election. But because of her prior 2011 tax fraud conviction, Mason was not allowed to vote in the state of Texas. Mason filled out a ballot with the help of a poll worker, but election officials later discounted her ballot due to the state mandate.

Mason knowingly signed an affidavit informing voters of the consequences if they had a prior conviction. However, she said that she did not read that portion of the affidavit because a poll worker had helped her fill out the required forms.

A trial court judge agreed with prosecutors and convicted her of illegally voting, a second-degree state felony. In March 2020, a state appellate court upheld the conviction. She served in prison until she was released to a halfway house in May 2020.

Walker’s wife may have committed a felony

While the situations with Walker’s wife Blanchard and Mason are not an apples-to-apples comparison, they’re not exactly apples to oranges, either, as both involve illegal voting.

Further, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — who oversees the state’s elections — warned ahead of the 2020 election that any people “who seek to interfere with democracy in Georgia should be forewarned that the consequences will be severe.”

The press release in which Raffensperger issued the warning specifically to “out of state illegal voters” cited state law O.C.G.A. § 21-2-217(a)(1) a, which mandates that that “the residence of any person shall be held to be in that place in which such person’s habitation is fixed, without any present intention of removing therefrom.”

The press release also warned that such “false registration” is a felony that is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $100,000 fine, as per state law O.C.G.A. § 21-2-561.

Walker’s questionable political future in Georgia

Walker, a Hall of Fame football great who calls Trump a close friend, has hinted that he would challenge Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock in the 2022 midterm elections.

However, he, like his wife, has the little issue of residency requirements to reckon with.

While the Peach State native made a name for himself starring as a member of the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team back in the 1980s, he’s made no secret that he lives in Texas. But according to a state-run website devoted to the qualifications of people running for U.S. Senator, a candidate must only be “an inhabitant of the state for which chosen when elected.”

Trump in June reportedly said Walker would run even though Walker has never declared his candidacy.

Trump has been calling for Walker to run since at least March, two months after Warnock won a Senate runoff election for the same position the former football great is reportedly targeting.

Walker has been dropping hints that he would indeed run. That included a cryptic social media video he posted nearly two weeks ago showing himself behind the driver seat of a sports car and captioned by four words: “Georgia on my mind.”

In the video, Walker revs the motor, gets out, smiles at the camera and says, “he’s ready,” referring to the car. “I’m getting ready.”

Smiling even more broadly, Walker adds, “And we can … run with the big dogs.”

That last part was accentuated by Walker zooming his camera on the car’s Georgia license plate, suggesting he may have already established his residency, with or without his wife.

Still, even without formally running [yet], Walker topped a brand new Republican poll in the Senate race.

Walker says Trump is not racist

In case it’s unclear what kind of a politician a Black Republican who calls Trump a close friend would be, the term “Uncle Tom” was a top trending topic on Twitter back when Walker delivered an address at the 2020 Republican National Convention endorsing a failed presidential campaign for re-election.

During that speech, Walker, who was one of Trump’s employees when he played in the USFL — one of Trump’s most glaring failed business ventures — said his “soul” was hurt when he learned people called Trump racist.

“I take it as a personal insult that people think I would have a 37-year friendship with a racist,” Walker said last August.

It is in that context that Trump hand-picked Walker to run for U.S. Senate in Georgia.

This is America.

SEE ALSO:

Texas Court Will Hear Appeal Of Crystal Mason, Black Woman Jailed For Trying To Vote

Crystal Mason, Jailed For ‘Illegally Voting’ Appeals Her Conviction: ‘I Refuse To Be Afraid’

Suspected Illegal Vote By Herschel Walker’s Wife Draws Attention To Crystal Mason’s 5-Year Prison Sentence  was originally published on newsone.com