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St. Louis, MO (KMOV) — It all started when the first vote was cast 232 years ago. The first presidential election lasted 27 days and George Washington won, becoming the first president in 1789. Of course you can’t find anyone who was there for that one but some who voted in the 40s and 50s are still around.
At 89 years old, Howard Mullins remembers the first president he voted for, and why.
“Eisenhower. I was in college at the time. Of course we didn’t know much about Democrats or Republicans,” Mullins said. “We just sort of picked a personality and voted for them in those days or who we thought would do the best job. And I knew he was a general in WWII.”
Mullins has voted for the last 11 presidents since.
“There wasn’t the kind of squabbling like there is today. Once we got a president, he was the president. Everybody respected him for his ability,” Mullins said. “Not like it is today.”
Back then the voting age was 21. Mae Wakeham is … “ladies do not tell their age.” Well, that’s fair enough. But she did say the first president she voted for.
“The first president I remember voting for was Harry Truman. It was really sort of a non-event. It was just something you did,” Wakeham said. “As your patriotic duty, you voted.”
She said it was just much simpler then but voting remains just as important.
“It’s just something one must do for your country,” Wakeham said.
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