The man who died while voting... and then came back to life to make sure his ballot was cast

(Image credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Plenty of voters have grumbled about long lines and confusing ballots today, but it's hard to complain after hearing the story of one Michigan man, who faced death and came back to make sure his vote had been cast. The Detroit News reports that the elderly man was filling out an absentee ballot with the help of his wife at Southfield Township offices when he suddenly stopped responding. Fortunately, Ty Houston — a fellow absentee voter and a registered home care nurse — was there to lend assistance. "He was dead," said Houston. "He had no heartbeat and he wasn't breathing." Houston applied CPR, and the man came to life a few minutes later. And strangely, he was more concerned about his ballot than his health. "Did I vote?" the man asked, before saying to his wife that only two things were important to him: "That I love you and that I finished what I came here to do… vote." Once he was assured that he had completed his ballot, he was taken to a hospital by EMS personnel — but not before wrapping Houston in thanks and hugs.