Voting

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The greatest thing that happened to me is I voted for the first time in my life at 75 years old. The first thing I had to do was get registered. I was in my literacy program, and Miss Susan and Mr. Matthew helped me fill the papers out. I think I did it online. I got my voting card in the mail. Now, I was able to vote. But I still needed help to go to the voting polls. My neighbor, Ms. Ketrianna Yvonne, helped me. She went with me to the polls.

When I got to the polls, I still did not know what to do. Ms. Ketrianna explained everything to me, like what to do with the ballot. The last thing I had to do was to put the ballot into the machine. That’s when the people who worked there showed me how to put it into the machine to cast my ballot. That was a great feeling. After so many years not being able to vote, I finally did vote! I completed voting for the mayor of New York City.

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''Robert Smith was born in the Bronx 75 years ago. At the Brooklyn Public Library’s Bedford Adult Learning Center, he worked with volunteer tutor Margaret Stephenson. He writes: “When I came to the library program, I wasn’t able to read or write anything down. Now, I’m learning how to do it, and I like it. I’m able to function with devices now, too.” Susan Knott is the site supervisor, and Matthew Greene is the literacy adviser.