A Texas judge has dismissed politicized and cynical voter fraud charges against Hervis Rogers, a Houston man who drew national attention for waiting seven hours in line to vote in the March 2020 presidential primary. Via the Guardian:

Rogers, who is Black, became a symbol of tenacity when news of the circumstances surrounding his voting experience surfaced. He stuck around– – despite working two jobs, including one beginning at 6am– – and was among the last, potentially the last, Texas resident to vote, according to KERA news.

“I wanted to get my vote in, voice my opinion,” he said to a local ABC affiliate. “I wasn’t going to let anything stop me, so I waited it out.”

But Republican Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, ordered Rogers’ arrest in July 2021, for casting a ballot while on parole. Rogers became one of the dozens of voters nationwide swept up by heightened GOP efforts to pursue election fraud cases; while many Republicans insist there is widespread voting fraud, there is no evidence to support this claim, according to the Associated Press.

Pretty sure ambitious governor Greg Abbot was pushing this from behind the scenes. And of course, he wasn't the only scummy Republican who created one of these "voter fraud" sideshows. Ron DeSantis did it, too -- and like Abbott, was stopped by a judge:

A Miami judge on Friday dismissed two felony counts against Robert Lee Wood, who was recently arrested in a crackdown led by Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

Florida prosecutors alleged that Wood, who is Black, was ineligible to vote due to a 1991 felony conviction. Wood– – who was approached by a voter-registration canvasser, and subsequently sent a registration card– – said he didn’t know about his ineligibility.

Florida officials said they would fight the judge’s decision.