Women's Suffrage

I haven’t voted yet. For me going to the polls on the day of the election is all part of the experience. I don’t care if I have to stand in line. People are usually friendly. It doesn’t matter who you are voting for, it’s the sense of community felt by a group of people waiting in line to do their civic duty even if it means being late for work, or dinner, or a date, or just getting home. Neighbors who haven’t seen each other lately are catching up on each others’ news. I’m sure this year there will also be joking about it finally being over!

I always find myself thinking how glad I am I was born when women can vote. My grandmother couldn’t vote until after my mother was in high school. The 19th Amendment, proposing extending the right of suffrage to women was proposed in May, 1919, passed by Congress in June, 1919 and ratified on August 18, 1920. (The North Carolina General Assembly finally ratified it in 1971!)

So get out there and vote whether you’re a woman or not – but if you’re a woman, don’t take it for granted - savor it!