An elderly man who fell ill while casting his US election vote insisted on finishing the voting process before receiving medical help.

The African-American man, believed to be aged 71, had been in the process of casting his vote with his wife in Chesterfield County, Virginia, when he began experiencing chest pains and having trouble breathing.

According to eye witnesses, the man was "bent over" and visibly struggling to breath, but continued with feeding his cast vote through the scanner before accepting medical help.

Heidi Page, a lawyer from Chesterfield County who described the incident on Twitter while she was on the scene, later told The Independent: “I only noticed when I saw an election worker bring a chair for him. His ballot had already been completed and was enclosed in a privacy folder.

"He had just fed his ballot through the scanner when he sat. He was bent over, obviously having trouble breathing. His wife was there and she and an election official were on the phone with emergency services.

"At that point, I scanned my ballot and left. I felt it rude to stand there and gawk. But as I was leaving, EMS pulled up as their station is quite close to the polling place.

"He was an African American gentleman and I overheard his wife say he was 71."

After casting his vote the man was taken to the local hospital by Chesterfield Fire and EMS, according local news channel CBS 6.

Several Twitter users expressed admiration and respect for the elderly man for "making his voice heard" despite the circumstances. One Twitter user wrote: “If HE can do it, everyone can do it.”