Woodbridge Man With Cerebral Palsy Votes For First Time

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Dylan Zacche and his mother are pretty sure he's the only person who voted by machine Tuesday in the entirety of Woodbridge's First Ward.

Zacche, 21, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. Due to Gov. Murphy's changes, only those who have a medically-documented disability were allowed to vote by machine in this election. Other Woodbridge residents voted in person in the First Ward, but they had to fill out a paper provisional ballot.

"We voted at the Woodbridge Community Center this year," said his mom, Jessie Zacche, 42. "Dylan was very excited to be able to vote in person because he cannot write or fill out a paper ballot. When we got there at 6, 6:30 on Tuesday night, they actually told us he was first for the entire day and gave Dylan a ticket that said Voter No. 1."

Dylan is a student at Middlesex County Community College student, where he studies political science. 2020 also happened to be the first time he could vote in a U.S. presidential election.

"He could not wait to vote in this presidential election. He follows politics very closely," said his mom. "When we walked into the polling center, he told them it was his first presidential election and they all rallied around him. There was the sweetest man working there, named Barry, I don't know his last name, who got him all set and helped him into the booth. I can never forget how kind Barry was."

"As we went into the booth, Dylan was so nervous his hands were shaking as he pressed the button," said his mom. "But when he came out of the booth, you could just see on his face how happy and proud he was. Everyone started clapping and cheering for him. I mean, people across the gym doing their votes started cheering for him. I cried."

"Voting is not only my right, it's my civil duty," said Dylan.

"I wish more people felt that way!" said his mother.

Dylan was born three months premature. His mother was diagnosed with preeclampsia about two thirds of the way through her first pregnancy.

"We were living in Jersey City at the time and I was at Bayonne Medical Center. They said they had to take me to Jersey City Medical Center and I passed out on the ambulance ride," she recalled. "I was unconscious and they told my mother, 'Take the baby out now or your daughter dies.' To this day, I don't know how she made that decision."

Dylan was born by emergency C-section. He weighed two pounds, three ounces. He spent the next fourth and a half months in the Jersey City Medical Center NICU, where he required supplemental oxygen to survive. He died twice in the first week of his life, said his mother; his lungs were not developed enough.

"Everything that Dylan is and the fact that he is alive today is because Dylan is a fighter," said his mom.

So, the big question now is ... Who did Dylan vote for?

"I voted for Biden because his views align with mine. He's much more supportive of people with disabilities, and I am one of them," said Dylan. "Inclusion. In the next few years, if he stays for eight years, I think we're going to see a person with a disability on his staff."

Zacche said her son has avidly been following newly elected North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn, 25, who uses a wheelchair and was just elected as the youngest-ever member of Congress. It doesn't matter that Cawthorn is a Republican.

"Party aside, he woke me up at 3:30 Wednesday morning saying, 'Mom, Mom he won!" laughed his mom.

"Even though his views are different from mine, it doesn't matter," said Dylan. "We got someone in a wheelchair in Congress. Someone like me is up there. And I strongly believe that in the next 10 to 20 years we will be seeing someone in a wheelchair run for vice president. Or someone with autism working in the White House."

Franklin D. Roosevelt is Dylan's favorite president, said his mom. "He made me take him to see his monument in Washington. But he also knows his disability was hidden most of the time."

Dylan himself has autism and a speech disorder, said his mom.

"That video of Joe Biden talking to a young child with a stutter, and how he overcame his stutter — that resonated with him," said his mom.

"But everything is totally there in his mind; he's 100 percent," she said. "He graduated high school with a 3.2 GPA. He was getting straight A's at Middlesex County Community College but we had to pause him going there because of COVID."

Both mother and son hope Biden wins. Regardless, for them the 2020 election has been a thrilling one.

"Dylan is the definition of a pre-existing condition; he was born with it," she said. "He's studying political science, so for this to be the first election that he's ever voted in is exciting for him. He's up until 3:30 every night watching the returns. Yes, he's crazy for this country. He's learning so much and loving every minute of it."