'Get out there and vote:' 102-year-old casts ballot in her 21st presidential election

PUTNAM COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – A centenarian living in West Virginia is making her voice heard in the 2024 election.

Arlene Wells is 102 years old. She has been a registered voter since 1944 when Franklin Roosevelt was elected for his fourth and final term.

This year marks the 21st presidential election in which Wells has voted, and she has never missed an election.

"I think everyone should feel their responsibility to vote for the one they think would make the best president or governor or whatever. I feel responsible for helping to get the best one in there," Wells said.

Wells says Roosevelt is the first president she can remember, and her favorite.

"My oldest sister had polio. She got March of Dimes. But she went to school. Went to Marshall College and got education from March of Dimes. That's what President Roosevelt had made possible," Wells said.

Wells was born in 1922, just four years after the end of World War I, and seven years before the start of the Great Depression. She made it through those tough times with her family by her side, and grew up in a home with twelve siblings.

"Did I tell you that [Herbert] Hoover was elected during that time? Anyway, my dad came home and said that he thought we would go hungry. It was hard. It was a hard time," Wells said.

Wells was married to her husband, Otis, for 70 years before his passing. Now, she has two sons, six grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandson. She says the key to a long and successful life is surrounding yourself with family.

"Enjoy life. Go to church, and enjoy your children, your grandchildren, your home, a happy married life. I had a good husband. I've had a good life," Wells said.

Wells has already submitted her absentee ballot for 2024. As the daughter of a former poll worker, she says she will always keep her voice heard come election day, and encourages every American to do the same.

“I think we should use our privilege and our right to get out there and vote. Study the news, the newspapers, find out who we think is the right one to vote for," Wells said. "Get out there and vote."