Texas Man Who Waited More Than Six Hours To Vote Faces Illegal Voting Charges
A Texas man says he waited “over six hours” at a polling center in Houston to vote in Super Tuesday last year, all for it to blow up in his face.
According to CNN, 62-year-old Hervis Earl Rogers was arrested and charged this week with two counts of illegal voting. A June 24 indictment from the Texas attorney general’s office alleges he voted in the 2020 March Democratic primary and 2018 November general and special elections despite being on felony parole for a 25-year sentence for burglary.
Rogers could face up to 40 years in prison over the two felony illegal voting charges, which is a felony in Texas. In the southern state, ex-felons are permitted to vote after completing both their sentences and all the terms of their supervised release.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, who is representing Rogers, told CNN that Rogers didn’t know he was voting illegally.
"That's why he went and stood in line for almost seven hours and spoke to CNN about it. He felt he was doing the right thing," ACLU Texas legal director Andre Segura told the network. "Where's the evidence he knew or intended to vote illegally?"
Additionally, Segura said Rogers believed he was no longer on parole as of a few months ago.
"(Attorney General Ken Paxton) wants to create a narrative of widespread voter fraud. We don't think this is a case that should gotten to this point," he said.
Rogers was reportedly arrested on Wednesday (July 11) and held at Montgomery County Jail. In a statement, The Bail Project said it had posted his $100,000 bail.
In the same statement, Segura said it's "a relief that Mr. Rogers is no longer in jail."
"He should not have been arrested and charged in the first place, and certainly should not have been forced to languish in jail on an outrageously high bail amount,” he added, according to CNN.
