FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Aug. 26, 2005
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290

Governor, First Lady Mark 85th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage

JEFFERSON CITY–Gov. Matt Blunt and First Lady Melanie Blunt along with the Missouri Women’s Council today commemorated the 85th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote on Aug. 26, 1920.

The Blunt’s also praised suffragists like Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton along with Susan B. Anthony who worked diligently and against significant political and social pressures to ensure that women had the right to vote. Currently, about 53 percent of registered voters in Missouri are women.

“The strength and determination of these leaders gave women an equal voice in our political system so it is appropriate that we take time out to recognize their efforts and sacrifices,” Melanie Blunt said. “Women are an important part of the democratic process in our country thanks to suffragists who dedicated their lives to giving women the right to vote.”

Last month, Congress passed a resolution that would establish an appropriate day to commemorate the women suffragists who worked for the right for women to vote. The resolution now goes to President Bush for his signature.

“It is important that we recognize the pioneering efforts of the suffragists, whose efforts lead to ratification of the 19th Amendment,” Gov. Blunt said. “Their commitment to equality and women’s rights was an important chapter in the expansion of American Democracy and the enfranchisement of all our nation’s citizens.”

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