The right to vote is a critical principle of our democracy and a driving force behind the League of Women Voters of Bucks County. During August, the Voting Rights Act's 55th Anniversary, which was intended to prevent racial discrimination in voting and the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to our Constitution are celebrated. A citizen's right to vote was not to be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex, according to the 19th Amendment was passed following a long fight by suffragists. Many women, including Black women, played an essential role in the suffrage movement. A number of these suffragists will be the focus of a LWVBC program, “Forgotten Heroes: Women’s Right to Vote”, hosted by Southampton Free Library and available to the public in a Zoom webinar format on Thursday, August 13 at 6:30 PM. Registration and details can be found here.
The 19th Amendment was ratified by Congress on August 18, 1920, reflecting more than seven decades of a struggle. While the Amendment was meant to afford all women the right to vote, Black women largely concentrated in southern states were confronted with intimidation tactics, poll taxes, literacy tests, and more, which made voting impossible for them and Black men. Many American Indian women were excluded from voting until the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, and even then, some local and state laws barred American Indians from voting until the 1940s. Asian Americans were prohibited from voting by restrictions that were not removed until the 1940s and 1950s.
Despite rights which should have been bestowed to Black men following the passage of the 15th Amendment, discriminatory Jim Crow laws and a campaign of terror and intimidation waged by the Ku Klux Klan, prevented many Black men from voting. Discriminatory practices against Black men and women were outlawed by the 1965 Voting Rights Act however, many obstacles exist even today that prevent every eligible voter from voting, and having it count, even today.
LWVBC firmly believes that our democracy is stronger when every eligible voter can cast a vote and have it count. They continue to work as a part of Fair Districts PA to bring reform to the redistricting process in Pennsylvania, looking to thwart efforts to gerrymander voting districts. They work to support expanded and safe voting access for all in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania’s Act 77 of 2019, the historic bipartisan legislation that made no-excuse mail-in ballots available, among other changes, has been an important expansion in access to voting.
The hard work and suffering and loss of life that so many experienced to expand our right to vote, including those brought to life in the "Forgotten Heroes: A Women's Right to Vote," challenges every eligible voter to register, cast a ballot and make our voices be heard in November.
