88-yr-old Francee Sherman was the first president of the Henderson County League of Women Voters. Photo by Matt Rose
When Henderson County voters head to the polls this month, they can thank Francee Sherman for making sure elections are on the up-and-up.
It was more than 40 years ago that Sherman was part of a group of civic-minded women who came together to form the Henderson County League of Women Voters. Political shenanigans forced them to get involved, not just with elections but with the judicial system as well. “People in the cemetery were voting, and they were very prolific,” says a chuckling Sherman, the League’s first president. “They also couldn’t get people to be on the juries. They’d just go out on the street and grab somebody and take them up to the courthouse, and they would be on the jury.”
To combat these problems, the League of Women Voters dispatched a small army of volunteers to observe elections, the courts and government meetings and sound the alarm on any suspicious activity.
Her days as president may be long over, but Sherman never really retired from the League as she regularly attends meetings and other organization events. Sherman, whose family owns Sherman’s Sporting Goods, also remains active by staying involved with the Jewish Ladies Auxiliary. She has a simple message for people thinking about staying home on Election Day: Vote.
“They haven’t any right to complain if they don’t vote,” says the woman who’s never shirked her civic duty.