Election 2020: 107-year-old woman carries on long tradition of voting in person in NYC
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, Manhattan (WABC) -- Millions of voters headed to the polls Tuesday to make their voices heard on Election Day, including one who continues to prove that age is just a number.
Delia Garces was not going to let anything keep her from the voting booth, not even the number of years she's been on this earth -- 107.
"She's the backbone of our family, and she is the one who encourages us to always do the right thing," granddaughter Yvette Carceres said. "And as a US citizen, it's important to do the right thing. And this is one of them."
The petite powerhouse insisted on voting in person in her Washington Heights precinct, as she has done so for decades. And she's never missed a presidential election.
Even now, with COVID-19 on the rise in parts of the country, Garces was determined to get there, quite possibly making her the oldest person to vote in our area.
Related: 99-year-old woman travels hundreds of miles to vote early
Her pick, she said, is Joe Biden.
"Vote for the best," she said. "I hear a lot that he's very good."
Garces was born August 29, 1913, when Woodrow Wilson was president. That same year, Ford started making the Model T on the assembly line and the Woolworth building opened, the tallest building in the world at the time.
In March of 1968, she left her home in the Dominican Republic and came to America. Twenty years later, she became a US citizen, something she cherishes.
"She lived in poverty in the DR, and coming to this country, which is full of wealth, she feels this is the land of opportunity," Carceres said.
Also Read: 'Vote and get home': COVID-19 pandemic, division lead to Election Day anxiety
And that is something she has passed on to her family, which includes seven kids, 19 grandchildren, 40 great grandkids, 34 great great grandchildren, and the youngest, a great great great grandchild -- six generations all living at the same time.
And just like that, Garces once again carried out a tradition she is proud of, something that's near and dear to her heart, a badge of honor.
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2020 VOTE RESOURCES
League of Women Voters of the City of New York
Board of Elections in New York City
2020 VOTE COVERAGE
Eyewitness News Elections Coverage
