Her family tried to get her to do curbside voting, but she wasn’t having it.
Virginia Dillard is 105 years old, and when it came time to cast her ballot in the 2026 Texas primary, she got dressed, showed up, and walked into that polling place on her own two feet.
Born just four months after the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, Dillard has lived through a century of American history. But the right that was supposed to be hers from birth didn’t reach her for decades. As a Black woman, she wasn’t able to cast her first ballot until she was 50 years old, well after poll taxes, literacy tests, and white-only primaries had been used to keep Black Texans from the polls for generations.
That history makes what she did this past Saturday all the more remarkable.
A mother of 10, Dillard arrived at her Harrison County polling location stylishly dressed and ready. She posed for photos with fellow voters, and when asked about her motivation, she kept it simple:
“I’m here today to show you what I can do.”
She also had a message for the younger generation.
“The future belongs to them, and they need to learn that.”
Early voting for the Texas primary runs through February 27, with Election Day on March 3.
Thank you, Ms. Dillard, for inspiring us to do what we can and should do to make a change!
Source: KLTV East Texas News
Cover photo: Virginia Dillard at her Harrison County, Texas polling location, February 2026 / KLTV
