Ninety-eight years ago today, women finally won the right to vote with the adoption of the 19th Amendment—opening the democratic process to more than 23 million women.

Women’s Equality Day was created on this anniversary to raise awareness about the importance of gender equality and recognize the sacrifices made by the suffragists.

But even after the 19th Amendment was passed and became law, women of color and poor women continued to face barriers at the polls.

Even in this century, we have seen more and more voter suppression nationwide since the Supreme Court rolled back portions of the Voting Rights Act in 2013.

Today, Congress has the power to restore the effectiveness of this important Act and uphold our democracy. Join us in this fight by telling your members of Congress to work quickly to repair and restore the VRA to ensure our elections are free, fair, and accessible.This Women’s Equality Day gives us an opportunity to reflect on the progress made on voting rights in the last 98 years and emphasizes the continued need to improve our election process. Today we are reminded of how far we have come and how far we still must travel for true equality.

Thank you for all you do to celebrate equality—today and every day.

Virginia Kase
CEO, League of Women Voters of the United States