102-year-old wears Hazmat-style outfit to cast 'most important' vote of her lifetime

Ms Lumpkin’s first vote was for Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940

Beatrice Lumpkin, 102-year-old former teacher, casts her vote-by-mail ballot in Chicago, U.S., October 1, 2020 (via REUTERS)

A 102-year-old woman in a makeshift hazmat suit ventured out into the world to cast her vote in the 2020 US election on Monday.  

Beatrice Lumpkin, of Chicago, told CBS Radio that she has not missed a single election in 80 years.  

The first president she voted for was Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940.  

Determined not to let the pandemic ruin her streak, she donned a pink plastic rain coat and a large medical hood and face shield designed by grandson so she could drop off her ballot at her local mailbox.  

"It's the most important election of my lifetime," she told the radio station. "The very future of democracy is on the line."  

Ms Lumpkin was born in 1918, two years before women won the right to vote through the 19th amendment.  

"When I was born, women couldn't vote," she explained.  

Ms Lumpkin was a math teacher in Chicago public schools and the city's colleges during her working years. She told the radio station that she hoped to see more women enter into the fields of math and science.  

Her colleagues from the Chicago Teachers Union Local 1 accompanied her to drop off her ballot.  

“Bea is truly universally beloved in our union, where she remains an active and dedicated retiree who shows up at as many picket lines and union events as she can, and remains very active in our work, plus writes occasionally for our monthly member publication, Chicago Union Teacher, most recently on the desperate need to address climate change,” a spokesman for the CTU told Fox News.

Despite partisan battles over vote-by-mail measures, Ms Lumpkin trusts that her vote will be counted.  

"As soon as they get my ballot I'm going to get an email that'll let me know they have the ballot," Ms Lumpkin said.  

Though Ms Lumpkin did not reveal who she voted for, her opinions on Donald Trump's attacks on vote by mail are revealing.  

WBBM Newsradio asked her what she would say to Mr Trump regarding vote-by-mail.  

"Well, if I had the chance, there would be a whole lot I could say to President Trump," she said.