A Black man faces up to 40 years in prison for voting in two elections while on parole.
Hervis Earl Rogers of Houston was arrested on July 7th and charged with two counts of illegal voting, a second-degree felony in Texas. He is being accused of voting in the November 6th, 2018, general and special elections and the March 3rd, 2020, Democratic primaries. Rogers was released from jail after The Bail Project posted his $100,000 bail.
Ironically enough, Rogers spoke with CNN last year about his experience waiting six hours to cast his vote.
“I wanted to get my vote in to voice my opinion. And I wasn’t going to let nothing stop me. So I waited it out,” Rogers said at the time.
Rogers was not aware that he was not eligible to vote under Texas law, which states that ex-felons are not allowed to vote until they’ve completed all aspects of their sentence, including parole. His legal representation, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, says that the 62-year-old was comfortable speaking to CNN because “he felt he was doing the right thing.”
“Where’s the evidence he knew or intended to vote illegally?” asked Andre Segura, ACLU Texas’ legal director.
Rogers was on felony parole for a 25-year burglary sentence. However, Segura claims that he was removed from it several months ago.
