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OPINIONS
Thumbs up: Observance is reminder of the value of voting
What began with a group of determined women in 1848 is now an everyday part of life. In July 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, N.Y. One of the goals there was universal suffrage, or the right to vote for all. It took 72 years before that dream was realized for the women of America.
On Aug. 24, 1920, Tennesee ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution giving women the right to vote, according to the U.S. Archives. Now 90 years later, we are celebrating that right with a program and parade in downtown Huntington today. The event starts at 6 p.m. in Pullman Square and will culminate with a parade to the Cabell County Courthouse.
Organizations such as the League of Women Voters, which helped organize today's downtown parade, are working to keep that passion for the vote alive. They encourage voters of all parties to become informed and to vote.
While today's event commemorates an important milestone for women, sadly what the suffragettes struggled decades for has become increasingly neglected in recent years, not just by women but by a broad spectrum of citizens.
Less than half of eligible voters in West Virginia have voted in most of the past 15 elections. In fact, the May 2010 primary has vote totals as low as 15 to 20 percent. The Cabell County turnout for the May primary was 20.97 percent.
A recent study by Democracy Corps and Women's Voices Women Vote expects declining voter turnout among unmarried women, people of color and young people for the 2010 general elections -- a group that in 2008 accounted for 47 percent of the electorate.
The observance of the 19th Amendment's is a reminder to all of us that we shouldn't take such rights for granted. The right to vote becomes meaningless if we don't use it.
