Texas’ voter fraud charges against Hervis Rogers dropped

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Voter fraud charges against Hervis Rogers, who garnered widespread consideration for waiting hours in line to vote at a Houston polling location through the March 2020 presidential major, have been dismissed.

Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered Rogers’ arrest in July 2021 on charges that he voted whereas on parole. Over a yr later, after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reiterated that the legal professional common doesn’t have the flexibility to unilaterally prosecute election crimes, a district court docket choose has dropped the 2 counts of unlawful voting against Rogers.

“I am thankful that justice has been done,” Rogers stated in an announcement.

After serving time for a 1995 housebreaking conviction, Rogers had been out on parole since 2004. His parole resulted in June 2020. In Texas, knowingly voting whereas on parole or probation is a second-degree felony, which might end in as much as 20 years in jail. But Rogers stated he wasn’t conscious of his ineligibility, and advocates pointed to the truth that he had waited for six hours to vote — whereas working two jobs, together with one which begins at 6 a.m. — as proof of this.

Rogers is over 60 years previous, so a conviction might have resulted in what amounted to a life sentence.

“It has been horrible to go through this, and I am so glad my case is over. I look forward to being able to get back to my life,” he added within the assertion.

Over the previous few years, Paxton’s workplace has made prosecuting voter fraud a key focus, although there is no such thing as a proof of widespread fraud in Texas. A 2021 evaluation from the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas additionally exhibits that over 70% of voter fraud cases introduced by his workplace focused Black and Latino individuals, notably ladies.

Paxton’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

The ACLU of Texas additionally labored on Rogers’ case.

“We honestly were relieved and so happy that Mr. Rogers was able to put this traumatic ordeal behind him,” stated Tommy Buser-Clancy, an ACLU of Texas senior employees legal professional.

The state Legislature handed a invoice in 2007 that will have required the Department of Criminal Justice to inform individuals who was once in its custody about their voting eligibility, however then-Gov. Rick Perry vetoed it.

“He never should have been prosecuted in the first place,” Buser-Clancy stated of Rogers.

Disclosure: The ACLU of Texas has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news group that’s funded partially by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Financial supporters play no position within the Tribune’s journalism. Find a whole list of them here.