DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — A Durham man voted on Thursday for the very first time at the age of 96, but he says it’s been a long time coming.
Dr. E. Victor Maafo moved to the United States from Ghana in 1960, but circumstances kept him from becoming an American citizen — until this year.
“I became a citizen on January 4th,” Maafo said.
And now with North Carolina’s early voting for municipal elections kicking off on Thursday, Maafo was one of the first people in line to cast his ballot at NC Central University’s Turner Law School.
He says he took his time researching the candidates.
“Do I trust you? Do I believe that you are capable of doing it? Are you enthusiastic about it or are you just doing it for kicks?” he said.
He had his paperwork and voter identification ready to go on Thursday morning. Maafo said it’s a right he’s been waiting for for decades.
“I think it’s human nature, that you belong, and so that made me feel like I really now belong,” Maafo said.
Maafo said he wants that sense of belonging for all voters in America, no matter what age.
