Thursday, June 12, 2008

Some elderly losing the right to vote

Shirley Preiss was born in Kentucky in 1910, a decade before the ratification of the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote, and decades before the right to vote was given to 18 year olds. Shirley voted for the first time in the election of 1932, and was eager to vote for Hillary Clinton in the Arizona presidential primary in February of this year. However, she was unable to. Shirley is one of the native-born American citizens who are losing their right to vote in Arizona due to relatively new voter ID laws. Those who were born before birth certificates were common, including many Native Americans born more recently on reservations, are unable to prove their citizenship and obtain the necessary ID to vote in Arizona. Shirley attempted to find elementary school records, but found her elementary school in Kentucky has long since closed. Watch the video from Channel 5.

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