On August 18, 1920, the passage of the 19th Amendment gave women the constitutional right to vote. Liz Blackwell, President of the Rock Island County chapter of the League of Women Voters, knows just how important educating everyone on the importance of voting is one hundred years later as the LWV commemorated this monumental day in history with a luncheon today in Moline. “We started the same year the 19th amendment gave women the right vote,” said Blackwell. “That’s the year we started because the league supported that.”
With just under three months before the 2020 election, it seems like now more than ever, voter education and interest should be on the minds of everyone. “We want to make sure that everyone feels comfortable, knows what the issues are, and knows where and how they can vote,” explained Blackwell. And as the COVID-19 pandemic has been a topic of conversation of how it will impact the polls this year, Blackwell understands people may have to abandon the ways of the past to get their vote in. “Right now, especially with the pandemic,” said Blackwell. “Vote by mail seems to be the safest for most people and that is not a partisan issue.”
As the LWV marches on to the next hundred years, their message for everyone for this year is short and to the point. “We want everybody to vote,” said Blackwell. “We don’t care if your democrat, republican, libertarian, whatever. We just want people to vote.”
For more information visit, www.lwvil.org/
Photo credit: Nicholas Cunningham
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