The Right to Vote

In 1973, August 26^th was designated as Women’s Equality Day to commemorate the day in 1920 when Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed a proclamation that granted American women the constitutional right to vote. Although a handful of states had individually granted women the right to vote decades before the 19^th Amendment was passed, it was not until August 18, 1920 that Tennessee’s vote in favor of ratifying the 19^th Amendment gave the movement the three-fourths vote of states necessary to pass.

As with any transformative change, the road leading to this victory was rough and long. The first organized women’s rights event took place in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848, and after more than 70 years of marches, protests, pickets and lobbying, women in the United States were finally guaranteed the right to vote. California holds a special place in women’s suffrage history as thousands of women in California advocated for the right to vote on the streets, in the newspapers, in the state capital and throughout the state. In California, women gained the right to vote with the passage of Amendment 8 to the state constitution in 1911 – nearly a decade before the 19^th Amendment was passed. Placer County voters helped win this victory by supporting this amendment at the polls.

Although women had been granted the privilege and the right to vote, many continued the fight for equal rights in the United States, as the 19^th Amendment did not grant all women the right to vote. Ultimately it was not until the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, Federal legislation that prohibits racial discrimination in voting in all states, that all women, and people of all racial backgrounds, were allowed to vote freely in every state.

Once women gained the right to vote, they also began to run for political office. Irene Burns, an educator who dedicated her life to teaching disabled children, was the first woman to serve in a public office when she was elected Placer County Superintendent of Schools. I am grateful to Irene Burns for her pioneering spirit and determination to serve the community, and I am grateful for all of the women elected to public office who I have served with over the years. The basis of a representative government is to ensure that all are represented, and we are all made better human beings by working alongside those who bring a different, equally valuable perspective.

Voting is the foundation of a functioning democratic system. It allows all of us to have a say in our government and ensures accountability for our leaders. The brave women who fought for decades to win their right to vote should serve as great inspiration to all of us, and we should honor their struggles by taking our right to vote seriously. As American citizens we must reaffirm our desire to continue to strengthen democratic participation and to inspire future generations to cherish and preserve the historic precedent so many women fought so hard to establish under the 19th Amendment.

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Warm Regards,

Supervisor Jim Holmes