Houston man who waited hours to vote drew national attention sees voter fraud charges dropped

[LetMyPeopleVote]

I remember the 2020 primary and this man did not vote until after midnight. Ken Paxton brought these charges even though the Texas AG had no authority to prosecute local voter fraud. The Texas courts have held that Paxton lack authority and so the charges against this man had to be dismissed.

Link to tweet

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-man-whose-story-of-waiting-hours-to-vote-17524461.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

When Hervis Rogers cast his ballot for a presidential candidate in the March 2020 primary, it was after 1 a.m. and he had waited for more than six hours. His story captured national attention on social media as people rooted for Rogers, the last person in line at Texas Southern University, one of several Harris County polling locations that experienced long delays in the primary.

More than a year later, Rogers was arrested and charged with two counts of illegal voting, prosecuted by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office for allegedly voting illegally while on parole.

Under Texas law, it is a second-degree felony to "knowingly" vote while on parole, on probation or under state supervision. Second-degree felonies are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Now, a district court judge has dismissed the case, after the state’s highest criminal appellate court recently reaffirmed its ruling that Paxton lacks unilateral authority to prosecute election crimes.

The attorney general's office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.