When Did Texan Felons Get to Vota Again
HOUSTON - As the battle wages on betwixt lawmakers and voting rights, residents may exist overwhelmed with the discussions and wondering how it will all touch them. Yet, for those who accept paid their debt to club, it's arguably even more puzzling every bit some may not even know they are eligible to vote in the first place.
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Similarly, "voter fraud" has get one of the largest buzzwords among debates surrounding the new voting nib, which is considered ane of the near controversial in Gov. Greg Abbott'due south special legislative session. Democrats criticized the bill proverb it borders on voter suppression, every bit it affects people of color and those with disabilities. While Republicans, on the other manus, debate it supports election integrity and limits the chances of voter fraud.
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Therefore, it begs the question of what does voter fraud look similar and how does it happen? In Houston for example, a resident fabricated headlines for allegedly committing voter fraud because he was a previously convicted felon.
An Case of Voter Fraud?
Hervis Rogers, 62, was arrested in early July for reportedly voting illegally in 2 previous elections in Nov. 2018 and March 2020, respectively. Rogers gained national attending following an interview when he and several other voters were standing in line for more than than six hours at Texas Southern University to vote.
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"Every vote counts," he said dorsum in March 2020. "I was debating on [not voting because of the line]...the way it was going, it's like it was set up up for me to walk away. 'Walk away, don't worry nigh it. I said 'no, I'g not going to practice that.'"
Rogers was simply a few months curt of his parole catastrophe, merely considering of this violation, he was placed back behind bars at a bond gear up at $100,000.
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Regardless, Rogers' case warrants a deeper look into "voting rights for previously bedevilled individuals" and into "voter fraud" and whether they are, at least in this particular instance, mutually exclusive or not. To learn more, we turned to two legal experts and a voting rights activist.
What the experts say
According to state police, an individual who has been previously convicted is eligible to vote if they take: "fully discharged the person'southward sentence, including any term of incarceration, parole, or supervision, or completed a menstruation of probation ordered by any court; or (B) been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disability to vote."
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1 of the experts, Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston, and who too has exceptional experience equally a lawyer, spoke on the importance of having previously convicted individuals voting, saying it was vital in furthering their transition dorsum into lodge.
"You oftentimes hear the phrase, 'paying your debt to lodge.' And I think that if you've paid your debt to club by serving fourth dimension in prison, then yous should have an opportunity to then participate in the reconstruction of gild," he explained. "It seems to me that would serve the public policy of reducing alienation of previously convicted felons, presumably it would also cut down on recidivism, that is to say, the possibility that a felon would commit another crime sending that person dorsum to prison.
"In other words, I had thought that the purpose of imprisonment was rehabilitation, not punishment forevermore."
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To learn more about voting rights for previously convicted felons, we turned to Dr. Gerald Horne, who holds e holds the Moores Professorship of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston and a constabulary degree from UC Berkeley.
Some other legal skillful and editor/publisher for Texas Conservative Review, Gary Polland, mirrored Dr. Horne's sentiments but said Texas is responsible for informing its residents to set up them one time they are back into society.
"You've heard people say, 'ignorance of the police is no excuse.' That is true. Even so, information technology does put information technology in context," Polland said. "You know, similar, 'I didn't intentionally effort to violate the constabulary,' but my understanding was, that once you go released from prison, your ceremonious rights are automatically restored. We have an obligation in this state, to inform people and give them the information they need, so they don't make these mistakes."
Local attorney breaks down voting rights for previously incarcerated individuals
We're learning more than well-nigh voting rights for previously convicted, so we turned to Gary Polland, a local attorney and editor/publisher for Texas Bourgeois Review.
Additionally, Polland says he empathizes with Rogers' misfortune and possibly didn't know he was breaking the law when he voted. This is exactly why, he argues, it's important for the state to provide necessary resources for previously bedevilled individuals to go properly educated.
"When [Rogers] gets released from prison, he should have been given a memo that says here are your rights," Polland explained. "And [returning citizens] need to get a list of what they can't do and what they can practise, so they're not in a state of affairs where they're guessing."
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How does it bear upon Texans?
These claims were further emphasized by Savannah Eldridge, a voting rights activist and founder of Be Frank four Justice, a nonprofit that focuses on educating incarcerated individuals on their legal rights. According to Eldrige though, information technology does non help that Texas already has strict voting rules, to begin with.
"There are three states where yous can vote no matter what...but Texas is one of the hardest states to do your voting rights," she said. "Therefore, there should be more than processes in place to make sure that people empathise how to do that, no matter what their situation or circumstances."
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Rogers' case is unique certainly, in that according to Polland, it'south quite uncommon previously convicted individuals would listing "voting" among their top priorities.
"I don't retrieve they're paying attention to voting, thinking virtually how to vote, or think that they're going to violate the law so they could vote," he said. "I think when they go out of prison, they're worried about trying to become their life dorsum together and trying to stay out of prison in the future."
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Conclusion: Did Hervis Rogers commit Voter Fraud?
Withal, when discussing the case on social media, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton cited Rogers' case as an example of voter fraud saying:
"Hervis is a felon rightly barred from voting under TX [sic] law," he said on Twitter. "I prosecute voter fraud everywhere nosotros find it!"
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Yet, some critics accept condemned the Chaser General's statements - citing racial implications behind prosecuting Rogers.
"Republicans are trying to utilise this as justification to create a horrible voting bill," Rep. Jarvis Johnson (D) District 139 told FOX 26 in July. "We don't place a $100,000 bond on rapists. This in itself is a travesty. It is what the Republican party continues to do, to endeavor and make examples of Black people simply exercising their right to vote."
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Dr. Horne meanwhile, said it seems far-fetched to contend Rogers' case as an example of voter fraud.
"If this was the all-time Mr. Paxton can practise with regard to voter fraud, information technology reveals and exposes he has a very sparse case to make," he said.
He besides had a grave reminder nigh the attorney general's ain situation.
"He'due south being investigated by the FBI. And besides, if I'm not mistaken, he nonetheless has securities violations hanging over his head," Dr. Horne said. "Then I would urge Mr. Paxton to look downward the road and recognize that sooner, rather than after, he may become a convicted felon himself. And he might want the rules to be inverse with regard to felons voting as a result."
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The future of voting
Rogers' instance becomes more complicated though after learning he was registered to vote, despite existence a few months short of his parole ending. For this reason, it begs the question of how Rogers can be held accountable if he was voting illegally and consequently, if it may deter others from voting.
"For me, what information technology shows is that people are not beingness prepared to come back into gild," Eldrige said. "If voting was going to put this person at adventure to go back, and they've already been working to try to stay on the right path, I merely do non believe you know, that everyone would race back to vote, especially three months shy of having that opportunity."
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Legal experts, on the other hand, say voters should be encouraged more than e'er to participate in the democratic process.
"It's the perfect reason why you should vote," Polland exclaimed. "And it'south critical that especially informed voters go to the polls and vote. I mean, who we elect to Office makes a deviation, especially in local elections, it affects the quality of our lives."
"I would say being Blackness in the The states involves an uphill climb and voting, the way information technology is constructed, and Texas is an exemplar of what I'thou discussing," Dr. Horne concluded. "But just like our ancestors were not necessarily stopped from the struggle by dint of being enslaved, I don't think that we should be stopped from voting past dint of the fact that yous take an chaser general, who was looking to add another scout to his belt and distract the tension from his multiple legal and political problems."
Source: https://www.fox26houston.com/news/explainer-texas-voting-rights-for-previously-convicted-individuals
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