American women have been able to vote for nearly 100 years, but today, they've gained a newfound appreciation for this right. During this election, women will have the chance to vote for the first major-party female candidate and possibly swing the election. So, women are celebrating their right to vote in a number of creative and inspiring ways.
The 19th Amendment passed on Aug. 26, 1920, thanks to the work of suffragettes like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Hillary Clinton has spoken about how her mom was born on this day, giving her extra appreciation for her right to vote.
While it's easy for those of us who were born with this right to take it for granted, the sexism Clinton has experienced, as well as the gains she and a record-breaking number of female Congress candidates have made, have served as a reminder that women's role in politics remains limited and that we have the ability to expand it. Many women are using their power as voters to increase women's representation in politics and make progress on women's issues.
Here are a few ways women are celebrating their right to vote during this election.
Clinton's Advocates Are Wearing White To The Polls...
Women are celebrating their right to vote and showing their support for Hillary Clinton by wearing all white and using the hashtag #WearAllWhiteToVote. They're alluding to the white pantsuit Clinton wore to accept the nomination as the Democratic candidate. Geraldine Ferraro also wore white when she became the first female major-party vice presidential candidate. The custom may stem from the suffragettes, who wore white during public appearances.
...And Pantsuits
Clinton supporters have also been showing solidarity by wearing pantsuits that resemble her signature outfit. People have been organizing pantsuit flash mobs to demonstrate their support, and some are even wearing pantsuits to vote. Jessie Oliver, who created the Facebook event Pantsuit to the polls, told Hello Giggles she started the movement to "tell the world exactly what I was doing on Nov. 8. ... I get to say: I am casting my vote for the first major party female nominee."
Voters Are Putting "I Voted" Stickers On Susan B. Anthony's Grave
Women are visiting Rochester, New York's Mount Hope Cemetery to celebrate Anthony's contributions to women's suffrage by putting their "I Voted" stickers on her grave. Her gravestone started accumulating stickers during the New York primary and has filled up even more in the days leading up to the election.
Women Born Before The 19th Amendment's Passage Are Speaking Out
Through the website "I Waited 96 Years," on social media, and in media interviews, women born before the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 are talking about what the ability to vote today means to them. "Won’t that be fun, saying 'Madam President'?" Edith Wilkinson, who was born in 1920, told The Huffington Post. "In my lifetime I never thought I’d get to see a woman president."
