WACO, Texas — "I grew up in a time where people had a passion to vote," said Lovie Langston, Presiding Judge at the Dewey Community Center.
The passion was passed down by his parents.
“So many people had died for their right to vote. At 18, we looked forward to voting because we knew that our parents required it," Langston said.
And as he got older, he witnessed the importance of voting in his own neighborhood.
“People are staying, 'oh my vote don’t count.' I have a lady that ran for school board and she lost that election by three votes so I had in my immediate circle I had 20 people sitting around me that did not vote," Langston said.
Langston tells me he’s been voting since he was 18. But it wasn’t until he retired that he started to dedicate his time to volunteering during elections.
“But then after that, I decided that I want to be a part of what makes the election office better so I became a judge and now being a judge of Dewey, I see a lot of people and a lot of voting problems," Langston said.
One problem he sees is that fewer people are coming out to vote. This encouraged him to put in years of unpaid hours to make a difference in our community.
“I try to get out here and let people know that you've got to make a difference and the only way to make a difference is if you get out and vote," Langston said.
