Ohio has always been a state that holds great interest for politicians. Every election cycle, pundits spend an enormous amount of energy on the Buckeye state. The 2016 election is no different.
In recent years, the women’s vote has captured the interest of candidates and the nation as they have realized how powerful it truly can be.
This was not always the case. In fact, women in the United States were denied the right to vote until the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920. This hard-won right was almost 100 years in the making. At the helm, two women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, guided the movement with aplomb and determination.
Ohio, our feisty territory turned state, became a first step on the long road that suffrage demanded.
In 1850, a group of delegates was convened in Salem, Ohio to discuss revisions to the state constitution. At this point in history, Anthony and Stanton had just begun their work, but were determined to add women’s suffrage to the constitution of Ohio. Women in the United States had few rights. They certainly could not vote.
Ohio women banded together in May 1885 and formed the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association (OWSA) in Painesville. They focused primarily on a campaign to change local and state laws that prohibited women from voting. Unlike many organizations of women in the late 19th century, the OWSA did not discriminate and encouraged African American women to participate in the effort. They also chose not to affiliate the organization with any of the national woman suffrage groups of this era.
Over the next 70 years, women throughout the United States would work hard to gain their right to vote. They wrote endless letters to the editor, eventually creating their own magazine and newspapers. They held conventions and lobbied their legislators with every ounce of energy they had.
Anthony and Stanton crisscrossed the United States giving speeches and holding conventions to raise support for their cause. Eventually, they even chose to stand in front of the White House, picketing. Those women were promptly hauled off to jail.
The right to vote was not something that came easily. Yet, it is one of the civic duties we so often ignore. According to Secretary of State John Husted’s report, 7,529,667 Ohioans were registered to vote. But on Nov. 3, 2015, only 43 percent of those registrants actually turned out to vote.
How do so many complain about the nation’s state of affairs yet less than half of Ohio voters turned out to vote last year? This question has been bothering me for months.
Throughout the summer, I spent time tabling for Moms Clean Air Force and the Get Out the Vote Campaign. Social science has shown that when people commit in writing to a task, they are more likely to follow through and I was game to see what I could learn from our residents.
Armed with commitments to vote in November, voter registration forms, and information about Ohio’s voting guidelines, I spent time engaging with Richland County citizens on the topic of voting. At times, I found myself questioning why I even tried as person after person informed me that they “don’t do that” or that they didn’t think their vote mattered so why bother. Why bother?
I could remind you that women gave up a great deal to earn this right. I could tell you how they force-fed imprisoned suffrage advocates. I could tell you these things, but perhaps you should read about it yourself. Perhaps the shock would answer the question of “why bother.”
Consider the 2000 presidential election. If George Bush had won a mere 2 percent more votes, he would have won Wisconsin, New Mexico, Iowa and Oregon. With that same 2 percent more, Al Gore would have won Florida and New Hampshire. Two percent of votes in any of these states could have drastically changed the future of legislative landscape in the U.S.
At this time, roughly half of registered voters in the U.S. are actively turning out to vote. That means half of us get to decide who represents all of us.
Many voters fail to do so because of apathy, lack of information, or the belief that their vote is pointless. But what if this wasn’t the case? What if we all took the time to educate ourselves and set the alarm a little bit early on Nov. 8, 2016?
What if, instead of saying our voice doesn’t matter, we took a page from two 19th century women who believed they could make a difference, even in the face of the very law saying they could not?
Elizabeth Cady Stanton joined the woman suffrage movement as a young mother. She was asked to speak in Ohio during the first Ohio Women’s Convention on April 19 and 20, 1850. Unable to attend because she had four very young children at home, she didn’t throw her hands up in the air and claim her voice didn’t matter. Instead she wrote a letter that was read at the convention in her absence.
Throughout her work with Susan B. Anthony, she was often unable to physically attend because of her home responsibilities. And yet, she never stopped writing letters and speeches that were read in her absences until shortly before her death.
Voting isn’t just a right, it’s a responsibility. It shouldn’t be a question of “why bother?” Instead the question shoiuld be “why wouldn’t I?”
Men and women fought hard to secure our independence and right to vote for not only women, but all citizens regardless of gender or race. This November, let’s make it an act of honor to take those few moments at the polls, cast our votes and have our voices join those who have gone befor
