Little Rock woman became first-time voter in her 80s; says it’s never too late to start
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – It was a super turnout on Super Tuesday for voters in the Hillcrest neighborhood.
Lesa Booker was one of them. Not only is voting on the day of an election a family tradition, but as a former civics teacher, it is a right Booker stressed to generations of children.
“How important it is and how hard we’ve had to fight to be able to have the right to vote,” Booker noted.
Election Day in Arkansas: Natural State voters choose presidential candidates, judges
That fight is one 87-year-old Ida McFadden knows too well. McFadden said she turned away at the polls while living in Michigan half a century ago.
“Went to vote, me and my husband, and they said we couldn’t vote,” McFadden said.
It took her daughter to convince her during the last election cycle to try again to vote for the first time.
“When she told me her story, and I asked her, ‘Do you want to vote?’ And she said, ‘Yeah if they let me.’ So I said, ‘Then you go vote,” Mills said.
McFadden voted for the second time on Super Tuesday.
“Oh, I felt good. I felt like somebody,” the 87-year-old said with a laugh.
Where are the polling locations in Arkansas?
A 2023 study conducted by the National Conference of Citizenship stated that 54% of eligible Arkansas voters voted in the 2020 general election, which was the lowest of any state in the country. Voters interviewed Tuesday want to see that change.
“Cast your vote. I don’t care who you vote for. Just go ahead and vote. Just do that,” Mills said.
They advise to just make sure it’s an informed vote. In the digital age, they said hearing from a candidate is easier than ever.
“There’s not an excuse. The information is out there,” Booker said. “You’ve just got to go get it.”
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Voters need an Arkansas driver’s license or a voter ID card when they go to cast their vote. Head to the Voter View tool on the Secretary of State’s website for the correct polling place for your address.
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