Women’s right to vote in the U.S. was established nationally in 1920 with the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Though it became a constitutional right (for white women), it didn’t guarantee that all those women would actually cast their ballot. Such was the case for Betty Cartledge, who couldn’t read or write, and whose late husband didn’t allow her to vote. Now, for the first time, the 82-year-old woman got to exercise her right.
Cartledge, who lives in Newton County, Georgia, voted early at a polling station with the encouragement and help of her niece, Wanda Moore. The woman, who celebrated her birthday on October 20, got to mark the occasion in a very special way.
“I was so young and everything when we got married, I never really thought about it,” Cartledge told WSB-TV. “And then I got old and I thought that it wouldn’t count to vote.” Her husband, William, a Korean War veteran, died in April of last year. Throughout their marriage, he said he did not see a need for his wife to vote.
With this came more challenges for Cartledge and her niece, who weren’t sure how to make it a reality. “I took it for granted that anybody that was old enough to vote was certainly registered, and that’s not true. I just thought it was something that everybody did,” Moore told The Washington Post. Still, seeing her aunt achieve this was a dream come true for her. “I felt like I needed to help her because she wanted her vote to count, at least once.”
Despite all the help she got to register and obtain her ballot, the choice of who to vote for was all hers. “She didn’t tell me who to vote for. That was my choice,” Cartledge shared. Ultimately, the excitement of casting her ballot was heightened by her own personal win. She was no longer ashamed of not being able to vote due to not being able to read. She concluded, “It made me feel like I was American, and I was standing up for my rights.”
82-year-old Betty Cartledge, who can’t read or write, just voted for the very first time.
Her late husband—who died last year—didn’t allow her to exercise her right. This time, she got her niece’s help to register and get to the early voting station.
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h/t: [The Latin Times]
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