In Georgia, USA, early voting for the presidential election has begun. Betty Cartledge, 81, was able to vote for the first time in her life thanks to the help of her niece. They want to encourage all their countrymen to do the same.
“I had already thought about it, but I don’t know how to read or write. I didn’t want to go into the voting booth without knowing what to do.” This Wednesday, October 16, an 81-year-old American woman voted for the first time in her life in Covington, Georgia, the day after the opening of early voting for the November presidential election.
The husband of Betty Cartledge, who died in April 2023, had never voted and saw no need for his wife to do so, reports Good Morning America. “I was married to him for 64 years, I knew everything about him, but it was something he never talked about and never wanted to do,” explains the eighth man to the Washington Post.
She had always thought about it though. Now that she is single, she especially began to notice the high cost of living and felt motivated to vote. Betty Cartledge was encouraged by her niece, who took her first to register to vote and then to the polling station.
“My choice”
“I can’t read or write. I didn’t have anyone to help me. But now I have someone to help me, to read and to make sure I did the right thing,” says Betty Cartledge.
His niece therefore read to him what was necessary and explained the procedure. “She didn’t tell me who to vote for. It was my choice,” assured Betty Cartledge proudly, who states that this gesture “gave her the feeling of being American and defending (her) rights.”
“I found it incredible (…). I’m sorry I waited so long. I wish I had done it sooner,” she told Good Morning America.
Encourage all Americans to vote
Betty Cartledge and her niece want to send a message: encourage their countrymen to vote, even if they can’t read or write or if they have a disability. “If I could do it, other people who can neither read nor write can also do it. Now I am no longer ashamed,” explains the 81-year-old woman.
“Talk to (your friends and family) and see if they can help you and move on. Do it for America. Do it for your country,” she adds, saying it’s “never, never” too late to vote . She assures that if she is still here in four years, she will return to vote.
According to the Washington Post, a record number of people turned out to vote early in Georgia this week, with about 600,000 people in the first two days alone. The election will take place on November 5.