With the D-day of the US Presidential Elections 2020 fast approaching, it can be safely said every single vote is crucial for the final outcome. A pregnant woman from Orlando, Florida, however, went to extreme lengths to cast her vote—fighting labor pain to vote before going to the hospital.
According to officials at the Orange County Supervisors of Elections officials said the woman was already in labor when she arrived at the polling station accompanied by her husband (who had already cast his vote) on Tuesday afternoon.
Karen Brinceno Gonzalez, a poll worker, was approached by the husband who said that his wife—who was waiting outside in the car—refused to go to the hospital without voting despite being in labor. "Yeah, she's about to have a baby, but she won't go to the hospital to have a baby until she votes," the husband said, according to reports.
Fighting through Pain to Exercise Her Right
Upon hearing the husband's pleas, Briceño González rushed outside to hand the woman a ballot and to verify her ID. She had assumed that woman would fill the ballot and mail it in before the deadline of 3 November 2020. However, she was in for a surprise. The woman insisted on completing the ballot then and there!
"She said, 'No! No! No! I need to fill it out right now.' So she filled it out. I gave her her 'I VOTED' sticker and she was off to the hospital," narrated Briceño González to Fox35. A spokesperson for the Orange County Supervisors of Elections said that the woman (whose name was not revealed) had been taken to the Winne Palmer Hospital, which is less than 5 miles from the polling center.
All In a Day's Work
While the experience was a tense and unusual one, Briceño González expressed her happiness over having been able to assist the couple. "I take pride in my work and I just wanted to make sure that she voted and she exercised her right before she went to the hospital," she said. What remains unknown is the reason behind the coupling waiting till the woman entering labor to vote.
Eileen Deliz, an election clerk, said that the duo did not mention the reason during the ordeal. "Maybe she wanted to come in-person at one point and that's why she was waiting, who knows. But she wouldn't go to the hospital until she voted," said Deliz, according to AP News.
Nevertheless, Deliz also stated that it was events like these that bring some joy during strenuous election work schedules. "We are very, very busy, but when something like that happens it just makes our day. Every election cycle brings us a great little story," said Deliz.
