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Elections

'Voting Is A Civic Duty': North Texas Seniors Take A Bus To The Polls

Courtesy of The Village at Mapleshade
(From L to R): John Hoffman, Mary Fan Kain and Hazel Hollien ride the shuttle to the polls.

For the past week, KERA has been talking to early voters all across North Texas. Today, senior citizens — one of the most active voting blocs in the country.

While many seniors are able to drive themselves to the polls, many others rely on the services provided by their assisted living homes. Some shuttle their residents to and from voting locations as well as help them fill out and mail in physical ballots.  

The Village at Mapleshade in Plano makes facilitating the voting process for their residents a priority by scheduling trips to the polling station at the Christ United Methodist Church just up the road. Meet some of their seniors and what they have to say about the importance of voting.

Mary Fan Kain, 82

"I think for this election, there are going to be a lot of people out voting. I mean, if you listen to the TV every day, you hear how contentious this election is. I guess I’m giving away who I voted for, but the suffragettes spent a lot of time worry about women getting the vote, so for a woman to be running for president of this country, that’s pretty exciting."

George Moon, 93, World War II veteran

"I’m inclined to agree with [Donald] Trump that Hillary [Clinton] is by far the most corrupt person we’ve ever had running for president. I have no qualms about having a woman president. I do have qualms about that woman being president. I vote regularly. That’s something you do if you care anything about the country and how it’s being run. If you don’t vote, you don’t have any reason to gripe."

John Hoffman, 87

"I’ve always come out and voted. I think it’s my civic duty and I want to do that. You ought to realize that it’s one vote, but if everybody had that opinion, it would make a difference. But if everybody said, ‘well it doesn’t matter,’ then about two or three people would control the whole thing and that’s a bad thing."

Credit Courtesy of The Village at Mapleshade Assisted Living
Frank Hufstedler, 96, says he voted for Hillary Clinton because he supports women's rights.

Frank Hufstedler, 96, World War II veteran

"My first vote was for [Franklin D.] Roosevelt. My second was [Barack] Obama, and he was the first black man to run and win, and right now, I’m saying Hillary will be the first woman. I think she will be the winner. I’m getting too old to live, but I’m still doing it. I’m still loving life. ‘My Happy Days’ is my favorite song. Happy days are here again."