At age 103, Ruline Steininger feels that she has little time to waste.
Thatโs why on Thursday, Steininger became one of the first people in her state to vote in person for Hillary Clinton for president, taking one step closer to fulfilling her wish of being alive if Clinton makes history in November.
In a brief backstage meeting with Clinton, to which CNN was given exclusive access, Steininger told the Democratic nominee: โWeโre going to put you in the White House.โ
โIโm going to help all the way. Iโm voting today,โ said Steininger, who came prepared with a handmade โHillaryโ sign attached to the front of her walker. โIโm not taking any chance and leaving it โtil the election. When youโre 103, you make every minute count.โ
โAnd you have made every minute of all those years count,โ Clinton responded.
Steininger also congratulated Clinton on her first debate against Donald Trump this week. โYou did very well,โ she said.

Clintonโs visit to the Hawkeye State on Thursday was aimed at promoting the first day of in-person voting in the state. The campaign sees early voting as a critical part of earning support in battleground states, and plans to organize more events to encourage voters cast their ballots ahead of November 8th.
That Steininger was able to vote in the 2016 presidential election holds historical significance of its own. A former schoolteacher, Steininger was born in 1913 before the first World War โ an era when women were not allowed to vote.
With a passion for politics, Steininger has voted in every single election since 1936, when she first cast her ballot for Franklin D. Roosevelt.
In February, Steininger cast her ballot for Clinton on the night of the Iowa caucuses.
โIโve got a big job ahead of me โฆ Iโve got to live!โ she said at the time. โAfter that, OK, I can die if I want to, but Iโm going to live until sheโs elected.โ
Overwhelmed by the possibility of Clinton becoming the countryโs first female president, Steininger wrote a letter to the former secretary of state earlier this year.
โIn my first century of life, Iโve seen many incredible thingsโ she wrote. โA pandemic, two worldwide depressions, a cure for polio, the first Catholic president, a man on the moon, the end of smallpox, an attack on American soil, and a black president. In my second century, I look forward to seeing a woman president.โ
Speaking to supporters here Thursday afternoon, Clinton called out to Steininger sitting in the crowd.
โI am so grateful for her support,โ Clinton said. โItโs a great honor to have Ruline supporting me. I am so pleased and sheโs going to go vote early today to make sure her vote counts.โ
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