A Push To Register New Voters Reaches Behind Bars : NPR

A Push To Register New Voters Reaches Behind Bars : NPR: ...Williams has run a medical clinic in Sumter for 30 years, with her husband, Joe Williams, who is also a physician. The Williamses remember all too well the civil rights battles of the 1960s. They always ask their patients — who are often poor and black — if they're registered to vote.

They believe in treating the whole patient. Brenda Williams says voting increases an individual's feeling of self worth, which is also good for one's physical health.

Among the clinic's workers is 26-year-old Amanda Wolf, who until recently was homeless. She says she's trying to pull her life together. Wolf spent six months in the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center for failure to provide child support. She says one bright spot was when Brenda Williams came to register her to vote.

"It was a privilege you know to be able to have the entire pod clap for you as you go up and get your voter registration card," says Wolf. "A little bit of excitement when you feel like all hope is lost."