EMILYs List Statement on the 100th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage

For Immediate Release
August 18, 2020

EMILYs List Statement on the 100th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This month celebrates the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which was the largest expansion of democracy in the history of the country guaranteeing and protecting women's constitutional right to vote. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“This historic centennial is an opportunity for generations of women to celebrate the hard-fought beginning of women earning the right to vote in America. However, it also lays bare the obstacles and setbacks women of color continue to face accessing the ballot box, even as women of color fuel progressive change in our country. 

That is why 2020 is so consequential, especially for women, who will decide this election. While Republicans are actively working to restrict the vote and systematically target communities of color to strip away voting and civil rights, we must stay focused on winning because the fabric of our democracy and our fundamental rights are at stake. We must not only safeguard the integrity of the election, but flip the Senate, and elect more women to the House, state legislatures, and governorships across the country so that we can continue to realize the full promise of the 19th amendment. Together, women will continue to fight to realize true equality for all women of every race, ethnicity, and creed.” 

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $600 million to elect pro-choice Democratic women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect 150 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and nearly 1,100 women to state and local office. Nearly 40 percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. During the historic 2017-2018 cycle, EMILYs List raised a record-breaking $110 million and launched a record independent expenditure campaign. We helped elect 34 new women to the House, including 24 red-to-blue victories; enough seats to have delivered the U.S. House majority alone. Since the 2016 election, more than 55,000 women have reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state and national offices.