Woman In Labor Stops To Vote

A 21-year-old woman in Chicago who was in labor made sure to cast her ballot despite being moments away from delivering her child, CBS Chicago reported.

Galicia Malone takes voting very seriously, so when her water broke Tuesday, Election Day, she still made sure to get to her local polling place before ultimately heading to the hospital.

"I was just trying to read and breathe, read and breathe," the 21-year-old mom-to-be told WBBM Newsradio. "That's what I kept telling myself, 'Read and breathe, read and breathe'." 

"The pains are pretty steady, but my doctor says to think of it as getting ready to give life," she told My Fox Chicago. "This is my first baby, a girl, and I wanted to make a good impression. I want to have a story to tell her." 

Cook County Clerk David Orr told NBC Chicago that Malone’s contractions were five minutes apart when she went to cast her ballot at 8:30 a.m. 

The news station revealed that she coincidentally and appropriately voted at New Life Celebration Church.

“I never voted before, so this made a major difference in my life,” Malone told CBS Chicago. “And I wanted this to be a stepping-stone for my daughter.”

"If only all voters showed such determination to vote," Orr said. "My hat goes off to Galicia for not letting anything get in the way of voting. What a terrific example she is showing for the next generation, especially her new son or daughter."

According to the Clerk’s Office, Malone’s water had already broke when she made up her mind to go vote before she delivered her child.

Malone said she then drove herself to the hospital once she cast her vote.