On Jan. 21, 2020, the New Hampshire State House of Representatives brought to committee a resolution that will recognize the passage of the 19th Amendment on Aug. 26, 1920, and celebrate Aug. 26, 2020, as the 100th anniversary of this accomplishment.

The Constitutional change that made it legal for white women across the country to vote was the culmination of nearly 75 years of activism during which women fought for this right. Although the passage of this amendment was the final goal of the women’s suffrage movement, it is necessary to recognize and celebrate the 19th Amendment as a beginning rather than an end.

The 19th Amendment was a beginning because women embraced the power of voting. In November 1920, in the first election that women were eligible to vote in local, state and federal elections across the country, more than eight million women turned out to vote. Since that banner year, women have consistently come to the polls to cast their vote.

The 19th Amendment was a beginning because, while it opened the door to women voting, it led to women taking responsibility as elected officials. In New Hampshire, two women ran successful campaigns as write-in candidates during the 1920 election, winning seats in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. By 2013, New Hampshire had elected women as the governor and the entirety of the Congressional delegation. Women around the country are currently running for office in unprecedented numbers.

The 19th Amendment was only a beginning because, while white women were unquestionably able to vote, African-American women were disenfranchised by voter discrimination laws until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. American Indian women were denied citizenship and with it the right to vote until the Indian Citizenship Act was passed in 1924. Chinese-American women were denied citizenship and voting rights until the passage of the Magnuson Act in 1943. Even with the right to vote enshrined in law, people of color continue to be targets of voter suppression tactics that include voter purges, photo ID laws and restraints on voter registration.

The 19th Amendment was a beginning because states and communities around the country continue to grapple with voter suppression practices. The states of Wisconsin and Georgia recently purged hundreds of thousands of voters from their rolls prompting court cases in both states. In 2017, the Supreme Court determined that North Carolina had engaged in gerrymandering based on racial lines and the state was ordered to redraw the election maps. In the same year, New Hampshire passed Senate Bill 3, which added new language and additional steps to the voter registration process. The law has been challenged by the League of Women Voters and the New Hampshire Democratic party on the grounds that it is confusing and likely to cause problems for new voters. There has not yet been a ruling on this case. While these laws do not target women specifically, any truly democratic society requires universal suffrage.

The 19th Amendment was a beginning, because the League of Women Voters was founded in the same year as the ratification of the amendment. This organization of women was dedicated to making sure that women were informed about their voting rights and that all citizens had the opportunity to become educated voters. Today, the League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization committed to voter education and to making sure that the voting rights that have been assured over the course of the history of the United States of America remain in full effect.

The League of Women Voters continues to fight voter suppression, oppose partisan and racial gerrymandering and work to limit the financial power of SuperPACs so that the voices of every individual voter can be heard.

The next meeting of the League of Women Voters will at 7 p.m. on Feb. 20 at the Nashua Public Library. All are welcome.

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