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102-Year-Old Woman Braves Pandemic To Cast Vote: 'If She Can Do It, You Can Too'

Ora Smith is no stranger to pandemics.

In 1918, the same year she was born, the world became plagued with a deadly strain of the influenza virus, leading to some 50 million deaths worldwide, and 675,000 in the U.S..

Now, at age 102, Ora is dealing with the second pandemic of her lifetime, and it's fallen right during what many are saying is the most important presidential election in U.S. history. But if you think she's about to let the threat of COVID-19 stop her from casting her vote, think again.

This week, Ora headed out to her local polling station, mask in hand, ready to have her say on just who will be running the country for the next four years.

Unsplash | Element5 Digital

As CNN reported, in order to avoid line-ups at polling stations and the threat of exposing herself to the virus, Ora cast an absentee ballot at an in-person ballot box in Hampton, South Carolina on Wednesday.

"Well, I think we need to change presidents, for one," she told the outlet. "So I voted for this man [Biden]. I hope he does a good job."

Ora, who was quite the supporter of Trump's predecessor, Barrack Obama, said she doesn't appreciate the direction the current POTUS has taken the country.

Unsplash | History in HD

"Things were pretty good until this other man got there," she said, going on to reference the Great Depression era: "It looks like he wants things to go back to Hoover times."

"We don't want that to come back to the generation coming now," she continued. "That's why I'm so happy if this puts Trump out."

Ora's great-nephew, Dr. Quentin Youmans, was so impressed by his aunt's showing at the polls that he shared photos of her online.

In those snaps, Ora can be seen dressed warmly in a coat and headscarf with her voter's card in one hand and a face mask in the other, preparing to go cast her vote.

"At 102 years old, my great aunt, born the year of our last great #pandemic, made her way to the ballot box to cast her #vote," Youmans wrote. "If she can do it, you can too!"

That tweet has since gone viral, amassing over 112,000 likes and more than 15,000 retweets.

In an interview with CNN, Youmans revealed that Ora's grandmother had been enslaved in the Deep South.

His great aunt was in her 40s when the Civil Rights Act was passed, outlawing segregation. However, she still lived in a state which went to great lengths to prevent Black voters from having their say in elections.

"With deep roots in South Carolina, Aunt Ora knows the value of the #Vote," Youmans wrote in a follow-up tweet. "For her and for all of us, please please please #Vote."

h/t: CNN

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