Libby woman, 100, is oldest voter

Evelyn Davis remembers women’s suffrage like it was yesterday. She was seven years old in 1920 when Congress passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution that guaranteed women the right to vote.

“I do think people back then thought women would vote as their husbands told them, but not today,” Davis said. “I think women today vote their own mind.”

Davis’ own mind includes a prompt return of her absentee ballot for Libby’s municipal election. For those who did not request an absentee ballot, the polls at the Ponderosa Room open at 7 a.m. today (Tuesday) and close at 8 p.m.

“I’ve already turned my ballot in,” Davis said. “I don’t mess around with that.”

Davis makes no bones about this election. Her pick for mayor is the incumbent.

“I voted for Mayor Roll,” she said. “I don’t like that Allen Olsen.”

Davis, who turned 100 on Oct. 10, is the oldest registered voter in Lincoln County, and this spunky centenarian who stands just five-feet tall and just barely weighs her age (102 pounds), has voted in every election since she came of age in 1934.

“Yes, Franklin Roosevelt,” she said smartly. “I voted for President Roosevelt the first time I could vote.”

What followed for Davis was 21 presidential elections and 13 men who rose to assume the office as president. She’s voted for nearly a third of all the presidents to reach the highest office in the land in our country’s history.

“I don’t really vote a party,” Davis said. “I vote for the candidate. If I think he’s good, I’ll vote for him.”

She said she liked Franklin Delano Roosevelt, getting the chance to vote for him during his second of four terms in office. She also liked President Reagan.

“Oh, yes. I liked Reagan. He was very popular,” said the woman who was married for 57 years to Harry Earl Davis.

As for our current president, Davis said she did not vote for him.

“Nowadays, they’ll tell you anything,” she said what asked about President Barack Obama. “I didn’t like him either time.”

Politics aside, Davis said she attributes her longevity to eating right and good habits.

“I don’t drink, and I don’t smoke,” she said. “Although, I did drink some when I was younger. Now, all I drink is coffee, and the doctor only lets me have two cups a day.”

She admits her eyes are not as good as they used to be and for that reason, her daughter, Sherry Smith of Libby, does much of her meal preparation.

“She helps me with the cooking,” Davis said. “I just can’t see the dials on the stove well enough any more.”

Despite the challenges that come with being a centenarian, Davis makes sure to participate in the election process.

“It’s our right and duty,” she said.