Sixty-two-year-old Texas resident Hervis Rogers has been charged with voting illegally after he cast a ballot in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary while on parole. Illegal voting is classified as a second-degree felony and carries a sentence of anywhere between two and 20 years in prison.
Rogers was met with two burglary convictions 1990s and was released on parole later on. He had nearly completed his parole when he first voted in 2018 during the midterm election cycle. Two years later, he gained media notoriety as he waited for six hours at a Harris County polling site during the 2020 Democratic presidential polling site.
“The arrest and prosecution of Mr. Rogers should alarm all Texans," ACLU attorney Andre Segura said.
"He waited in line for over six hours to vote to fulfill what he believed to be his civic duty, and is now locked up on a bail amount that most people could not afford."
Rogers' case is also alarming because he is not being charged where he voted. He voted in Harris County, an area that is 20% Black, but he is being tried in Montgomery County, an area that is 6% Black.
"He faces potentially decades in jail. Our laws should not intimidate people from voting by increasing the risk of prosecution for, at worst, innocent mistakes. We will continue to fight for justice for Mr. Rogers and will push back against efforts to further restrict voting rights," Segura added.
Moving forward, the case will be prosecuted by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton is best known for attempting to overturn the results of the most recent presidential election. Recently, he took to Twitter to address the matter.
"Hervis is a felon rightly barred from voting under TX law. This liberal NPR article even says so, but buries it: 'Rogers voted before his parole was scheduled to end, he was likely ineligible to cast a ballot on Election Day.' I prosecute voter fraud everywhere we find it," he tweeted.
Roger is currently being held in custody. His bail has been set at $100,000.
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