A Houston Man Is Arrested For Alleged Illegal Voting As Texas GOP Seeks Tighter Laws

When Hervis Rogers went viral on social media for being the last person in line at Texas Southern University to cast a vote at 1 a.m. on Super Tuesday in March 2020, he was applauded as a tenacious, civic-minded man who worked hard to exercise his right to vote.

Now, Rogers is being prosecuted by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office for allegedly voting illegally.

The arrest came just one day before the Texas Legislature convened on Thursday to begin a special session, where a controversial voting bill is on the agenda. Republicans in favor of new voting restrictions point to cases like Rogers' as proof of an insecure system. However, there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

In 1995, Rogers was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison for burglary and intent to commit theft. He was out on parole May 20, 2004, and his parole was set to end June 13, 2020.

Rogers was one of millions of people in America without the right to vote, because of laws in a number of states, including Texas, prohibiting formerly convicted felons from participating in elections while still on parole.

Rogers was arrested on Wednesday in the South Acres neighborhood in Houston, and he voted in Harris County, but the AG's office is prosecuting the case in Montgomery County. Rogers is charged with two counts of illegal voting. His bail is set at $100,000.

Rogers is represented by the ACLU of Texas and Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube.

"Mr. Rogers is being held in jail on an extremely high bail amount that he cannot afford for what amounts to simply attempting to fulfill his civic duty. This is not justice," said ACLU of Texas legal director Andre Segura.

Because Rogers voted before his parole was scheduled to end, he was likely ineligible to cast a ballot on Election Day, despite being registered to vote, said a spokesperson with the Harris County Attorney's Office last year.