Last year, a man in Texas got lots of attention for waiting hours to cast a ballot in last year’s presidential primaries. His persistence caught the eye of a CNN news crew when he became the last person to vote at his Houston polling place and said he had waited “a little bit over six hours” to cast his ballot during Super Tuesday in March of last year. “I figured like it was my duty to 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,” Hervis Rogers told CNN at the time. On Wednesday, Rogers, 62, was arrested and charged with two counts of illegal voting. He was held in jail with bail set at $100,000, which was paid by the Bail Project, a nonprofit organization.
July 11, 2021
Signs competed for voters’ attention in McAllen, Texas, on April 19.Credit.Verónica G. Cárdenas for The New York Times
Opinion Columnist
It was March 3, 2020, the day of the Democratic primary in Texas, and Hervis Rogers, a 62-year-old Black man, was intent on making his voice heard at the ballot box. He arrived at the polling place around 7 p.m. and joined the line.
The polling place later closed to new people joining the line, but Rogers remained. Other people trickled away, unable or unwilling to wait, but Rogers remained. He stayed in that line for nearly seven hours until he was finally able to vote at 1:30 a.m.
Texas Voter Went Viral After Standing In Line For 6 Hours, Turns Out He Was Voting Illegally
07/12/21 AT 12:39 AM Hervis Rogers, who waited in line during the 2020 Super Tuesday election to cast a vote, is faced with two charges of illegal voting. Photo: Getty Images/Spencer Platt
KEY POINTS
Rogers became a social media star in March 2020
Rogers’ case is similar to Crystal Mason, who was sentenced to five years for illegal voting
Texas Republicans have advanced two new restrictions on state voting laws
A 62-year-old man from Texas who went viral last year during the Democratic primary elections, is now facing charges related to illegal voting.
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