“I feel like the GOP broadly really wants to make it look like in-person voter fraud is a real thing. The numbers have shown that it’s not, but if they can drum up enough cases like this, then they have the ability to at least make the claim that it exists. Stories like this will scare people away from voting and it will make us a less democratic country.”

That’s what the lawyer for Crystal Mason told TPM’s Nicole Lafond, and it’s exactly right. Mason is the Texas woman who was sentenced to five years in jail for illegally voting when she was on supervised release for a felony conviction. Mason, who pretty clearly appears to have made an honest mistake, is now asking for a new trial.