How lucky we were to know Laura Wooten. For 27 years she greeted generations of Princeton students, faculty, and staff at the Butler dining hall almost until her sad passing at age 98 on March 24, 2019. Outside of Princeton, she exemplified civic virtue, becoming the longest continuously serving poll worker in U.S. history.
Every year is a good year to remember her, but perhaps this year in particular. She would have turned 100 on December 19, 2020, and a bill bearing her name, “Laura Wooten’s Law,” requiring civics instruction in middle schools, passed in the NJ Senate in January and is now working its way through the State Assembly. We are also emerging from the first election she missed since she began as a poll worker in 1939, our democracy besieged but resilient. She would have been overjoyed to see so many people vote and a new generation of young people, like the Princeton students in the Poll Hero Project, following in her footsteps by working the polls to preserve democracy.
As we prepare to gather to recall Wooten’s life and legacy on April 9, we invite you to share your thoughts and memories about her below.
Soooo fitting!! Not only a champion for democracy, justice, and peace, she was a mother of the church and of an entire Princeton community. Back in the day, people in the neighborhood sat on their porches in the evenings. I recall that one of the most popular porches in the neighborhood for young people was the Wooten’s. I will always have fond memories of being among the young people congregating there, and her warm, yet firm way of keeping the order nor the amount of total respect her quiet nature commanded. She assisted me the very first time I ever cast a vote. As one of the senior poll workers, she really did know how to make sure the voting process went as smoothly as possible. When I was sixth district committee woman I had to be at the polling place when it opened. When I arrived I thought I would be the first person there. Well, imagine my surprise when I realized that Mrs. Wooten was already there ready to give instructions to other poll workers as they arrived. At the end of a very long day, she was the last person there doing what had to be done to officially secure the machines. A PHENOMENAL WOMAN!!
I am a Butler Community Fellow from Pennington.
I retired in 2009.
For most of my 16 years in the Facilities organization, I was fortunate to be a Staff Fellow and gladly participated in Butler events; the most rewarding part of any work day. The “Masters” (sorry, old school), College Administrators and Staff were consistently welcoming.
At any lunch meal, I was warmly greeted by Laura with an enthusiasm that I have only experienced with family and Classmates..
Laura was a gem and I am proud to have known her.
This event is well deserved praise for one of Princeton’s finest.
Bill Traubel, *72
I first met Laura during grad school, when I was part of the Butler College staff. She held our babies shortly after they were born, continued to greet them through toddler-hood and adolescence, and faithfully asked after them as they became young adults. In that way, as in so many others, she made what might have simply been a workplace into a warm and welcoming community. I know she did this for countless undergraduates over the years as well. Butler College is better for Laura having been a part of it! We will miss her.
It was always heartwarming to see Laura every morning, walking steadily towards her place at the checker’s desk in Wu or tidying up the newspapers at the table nearby. She was a friendly, enduring presence for years, always proud to tell us about her latest well-earned honor for her amazing electoral work, and I was always pleased when she complimented me on one of my shirts or ties. We miss her!