For the first time in her life

[Coolest Ranger]

My grandmother has never voted. Even when Barrack Obama ran in 2008 she never saw the need to register to vote. I worked her good that year trying to run up the tally for the President. In the end though I couldn't convince her to register to vote.

Thursday of last week, we were talking about the upcoming election. I told her that everyone here in my small North Carolina town was voting for Hillary Clinton. In this small town of Cofield, NC where I live, I'm related to nearly everyone. We've been talking for the last few months and paying attention to the news. Even the young people here are terrified about Trump being in office. Based upon my conversations with them, Clinton going to win our town. Of that I'm certain about.

But what really made me want to post this here today is for the first time in her life, she'll turn 82 years old on October 9th, my grandmother, a woman who has sometimes given me stress, sometimes made me want to scream at the top of my lungs, my biggest critic, but also has my back, has been there for me when I first lost my eye sight in my left eye in 2003, has been my biggest supporter when I came out to her in 2013 has decided to register to vote and she's voting for the first time in her life for Hillary Clinton.

I am so very happy and I hope you'll support and congratulate her for me. I won't be able to be with her on election day as i live one county over but I am proud of her for stepping up

[apcalc]

1. Congrats to her and to you! This is a heartwarming story.

[MadCrow]

31. My 101 year-old mother will vote absentee

My mother was born before women had the right to vote. She will be 101 years old on Wednesday. I arranged for her to vote absentee, so I expect to be able to give her the ballot at her birthday party on the 15th in front of all the family. I'm not sure how she will vote. She has been a life-long Republican, but she did admit to me a couple of years ago that she voted for Obama. She has also expressed her dislike of Hillary in the past. But she was born and raised in New York and her comment when she heard Trump was running for president was, "The real estate guy? He's a crook!". She also made the comment that Trump proves that having money, doesn't mean you have class. So I hope she takes advantage of the opportunity to vote for a woman candidate for President in her lifetime.

[sarae]

2. I love hearing stories like this.

Congratulations to both of you!

[klook]

3. Fantastic!

Grandmas all over this country are going to kick Trump's ass in a few weeks. So glad yours is part of the wave! I bet she will love the feeling she gets from voting and will want more.

[Sancho]

4. GRITS (girls raised in the south) are going to vote for Hillary...

they are fed up with years of sexism.

[UCmeNdc]

5. What about voter ID in North Carolina?

I think they are working hard to suppress the vote there.

[Coolest Ranger]

9. She still has her drivers license

and her birth certificate. This is a smart woman who knows what they are trying to do

[mnhtnbb]

20. Courts have overturned it: no voter id will be required in NC for this election

Voter ID Requirements in NC

On July 29, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down photo ID requirements and associated laws in North Carolina (S.L. 2013-381, as amended by S.L. 2015-103). The state is considering its options. Barring a different outcome on appeal, photo ID will not be required in the upcoming general election. Further details will be posted as they become available.

http://www.ncsbe.gov/Voter-Registration/Voter-Id-Req

You go, Grandma!

[stonecutter357]

6. K&R!

[-Steph-]

7. That's wonderful to hear! Thank you so much for sharing.

I think there's going to be a lot more people coming out to vote for Hillary than the MSM would have us believe. I'm predicting a landslide.

[Coolest Ranger]

23. Spending time with family last night

Trump was the topic of conversation and it was clear to me that everyone was going to vote and they bringing other family members out and letting their friends and co-workers know about it. My cousin Dee told me this morning as we were shopping and paying bills that she and her husband James are going to be making sure they are registered to vote this week. She wants to vote against Trump badly

[Demsrule86]

8. She sounds remarkable. How fortunate you are and she is too.

I loved my Grandma so much and miss her every day. Congratulations on voting for the fist time and what a year to do it in...the first woman president.

[Liberal In Red State]

10. That is sooooo cool! Way to go Grandma!

[Tanuki]

11. Please tell her congratulations from me as well! She will be so happy and proud on election day,

to know that she was part of Hillary's historic victory. Kudos to you, Coolest Ranger, for keeping at it and helping to GOTV!

[Kind of Blue]

12. Congratulations to Grandmom Coolest Ranger!

And to you for making it so.

[brer cat]

13. That is news to celebrate!

Congratulations to Grandmother Coolest Ranger. We are delighted to have you on our side and voting!

[mountain grammy]

14. Thank you...

for a good start to my day!

[Ligyron]

15. Congratulations Grandmother and Ranger!

Great decision .

Be sure and study the down ballot candidates for what's going on in your part of NC, (obviously). We need to turn that state blue and get rid of the stranglehold that racist GOP old boy's club has on the good people of that state.

[MarianJack]

16. Mazel Tov, Grandmom!

PEACE!

[Maru Kitteh]

17. The Republicans in that state are lashing out like cornered animals

Or that thing in alien . . .

Congrats to Nana Coolest Ranger and to you!

[whatthehey]

18. Every little helps - esp in a usually Rep town

http://www.homefacts.com/politics/North-Carolina/Hertford-County/Cofield.html

[Coolest Ranger]

25. Holy Cow

i had no idea we had sexual offenders in the area. Thankfully though none of them look familiar to me

[whatthehey]

27. It is rather sad how common they are

In both real and legal terms. There have always been deviants and people who cannot restrain urges and so pose a real threat to others, and the registry of sex offenders is a good thing for letting us know who they are. It's unfortunately also a bad thing for lumping in less, or rather not, dangerous folks with them. It's amazing that "sex offenders" were put on the registry for peeing in bushes when they couldn't make it home in time, or walking about in their own home without enough clothes on for prudes. There are even kids on the list. Real kids not 17.9 year old testosterone-soaked hulks. Without serious google-fu or access to LEO data, it's impossible to tell which your local ones are.

[LittleGirl]

19. You should notify the Clinton campaign

about this remarkable change of heart! She could be famous (or not). I love this!
I want to broadcast this to the hills! Whoo HOO!

[Upthevibe]

22. Awesome!! Good for you and for her. :-). N/T

[niyad]

21. congrats to her, and you. and please, give her our warmest wishes for an incredibly happy

birthday.

[amuse bouche]

24. Please give her our love and thanks

[Farmgirl1961]

26. Thank you for sharing this!

What an honor it will be for her! This is a story worth sharing at the HRC website...who knows??? maybe it will get picked up and talked about.

[MFM008]

28. Show her this

[sheshe2]

29. Wonderful news.

Grandmother and Coolest Ranger are getting out the vote 2016.

[hamsterjill]

30. My sister, who is 67, just registered for the first time, as well.

It took a lot of encouragement, but she finally submitted the voter application. I'll be accompanying her to the polls the first day of early voting.

Of course, she will be voting for Hillary!!!

Congratulations to you and your grandmother, and my thanks to her for her vote for sanity.

[jimlup]

32. I also have a friend voting for the first time for Hillary

Her faith is the reason she doesn't vote as her religion teaches that politics isn't of spiritual importance. This year she sees things differently.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

33. I am very glad to hear this,

but I still must ask, What the fuck has she been thinking has she been thinking all these years that she never registered to vote? If she's 82, she was born in 1934, well after women got the right to vote. Has she been living under a rock?

I realize I don't know enough about her, and it's probably very unfair to treat her like this, but I'm still horrified. She came of age during and after WWII. She was a young woman in the 1950's, the very height of sexism and anti-women nonsense. I suppose she married at age 20 or so, spent fifteen or so years raising children and then invested another decade or two taking care of her husband. But still, didn't she EVER think about herself as and individual? And even if she didn't, why in fuck's sake did she never register to vote?

I'm appalled.

In 1968, when I was too young to vote myself, my sister-in-law said she wasn't sure she should be voting that year since her husband (my brother)'s vote would cancel hers. Brother was a Republican. Sister-in-law was a Democrat. I told her she absolutely should vote to offset his.

We all should vote. Although, if you're a Republican, I'll point out that a lower voter turnout favors Republicans so, (at the risk of repeating myself) if you're a Republican, don't vote.

[Moonwalk]

34. I hope you're going to have a big election day party and bake grandma a cake...

...to celebrate her vote and Hillary's victory. You need to reinforce the goodness of voting by associating it with partying and cake

[kstewart33]

35. That is so cool.

Thank you for telling your story. Reading it was a great way to start the morning.