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A Georgia woman voted for the first time in her life at the age of 81 because her husband who passed away last year never allowed her to vote for the US election. Early voting opened in Georgia and Betty Cartledge felt for the first time like an American as she cast her ballot. She never argued with her husband as she also started believing that her vote didn’t matter.The woman’s byte to WSB-TV Atlanta before casting her vote on October 16 went viral.
When Betty got married, she was very young and never thought of voting and when she got old she thought it wouldn’t count. “I was so young and everything when we got married, I never really thought about it,” Cartledge told the channel. “And then I got old, and I thought that it wouldn’t count to vote.”
Betty said she would like to vote from now on. “If I ‘m here, I’ll be back again,” she said. Her first-time voting at the age of 81 made her a social media star as many people congratulated her. Many had disparaging remarks for her late husband as well.
“Wow, so glad she was able to vote at least once,” one person wrote on X. “Amazing that men thought this way about our right to vote.”
“Y’all need to listen to this incredible story about an 81-year-old women in Newton County, Georgia casting her vote for the first time. How many women in America are there who are repressed by controlling husbands? Unfortunately, I have a feeling there are quite a few. 🥺👇,” another wrote.
“This makes me think of my mother’s mother, who explained away her non-participation by saying what difference does my one vote make. She was saintly in her personal life; she had to be to contend with my grandfather’s stern authoritarianism,” one post read.