VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: A grandmother is teaching her granddaughter the importance of voting
Autumn Ryan: Debra Barber has voted in every election for the past 49 years and this year she brought her granddaughter Claire to the polling site. Barber says she wants to prepare the next generation and make society better for them.
Debra Barber: It is very important for her to see the process. We talked about when we’re in the ballot booth. This is when you gotta read this. If you vote for one, then vote for two. Just to keep her looking forward to when she can do it.
Ryan: Barber is one of many who came out to vote on the issue of women’s rights. She says raising a family of women made this issue more personal for her.
Barber: I have myself as a woman, my only living child left is a woman, she is going to be a woman, and I have a granddaughter.
Ryan: Claire enjoys being at the polling site with her grandma because they can spend time together. She says her grandma talks a lot about why voting is important.
Claire Simpson: I feel that we have a voice so we should be able to stand up and vote.
Ryan: Autumn Ryan, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Some children spending the day with their grandparents are doing an activity that they don’t normally do—heading to the polls and watching their grandparents cast their ballots.
One grandma in the Eastwood neighborhood, Debra Barber, has brought her granddaughter, Claire Simpson, to the polling site for the last two years. Barber says she wants to prepare the next generation for voting.
“It is very important for her to see the process. We talked about when we’re in the ballot booth. This is when you gotta read this. If you vote for one, then vote for two. Just to keep her looking forward to when she can do it,” said Barber.
Many voters, including Barber, went to vote on the issue of women’s reproductive rights. She said raising a family of women made the issue of reproductive health more personal for her.
“I have myself as a woman, my only living child left is a woman, she is going to be a woman, and I have a granddaughter,” said Barber.
Clair enjoys being at the polling site with her grandma because they can spend time together. Even though she’s only 11 years old, she is looking forward to voting and said her grandma talks a lot about why voting is important.
“I feel that we have a voice, so we should be able to stand up and vote,” said Simpson.