99-year-old woman travels hundreds of miles from Chicago to Detroit to vote early

ByABC 7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Monday, October 19, 2020
Woman, 99, travels hundreds of miles to vote
Mildred Madison is staying with family in the Chicago suburbs but she did not receive her ballot, so she asked her son to drive her to Detroit this week so she could vote.

CHICAGO -- A 99-year-old woman has traveled hundreds of miles to cast her ballot in the 2020 election.

Mildred Madison is staying with family in the Chicago suburbs but she did not receive her ballot, so she asked her son to drive her to Detroit this week so she could vote.

"I wasn't going to miss this at all," she said. "It was most important, no matter what I had to do. Vote because your life depends on it, not only for you but for you children and their children."

RELATED: This 102-year-old wasn't going to let COVID-19 stop her from voting

A retired member of the Chicago Teachers Union showing that age and the pandemic are not a barrier to voting.

Madison and her son made the 600-mile round-trip in one day.

Madison said civic engagement is a must and wants to create a "Mildred Madison Center for Civic Engagement" to inspire young adults to vote.

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