Governor Mills Honors 100th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage

Statement

Governor Janet Mills issued the following statement in recognition of the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment:

"Both of my grandmothers voted for the first time in the presidential election of 1920 and, within a few short years, each was elected to the school boards of their respective towns, Farmington and Ashland, Maine.

"I like to think that they would be proud that, within a hundred years of being able to vote for the first time, their granddaughter would be the first woman governor of Maine.

"Women's voices and women's votes contribute to our state's robust history of civic engagement, from our tradition of town meetings to our record high voter turnout year after year. Women of all parties in all corners of the state take very seriously the responsibility to participate in our own democracy at all levels.

"We have gained important ground in the last 100 years, but we all know women, especially women of color, are still underrepresented and still disadvantaged because of sex. The suffrage movement's victories were hard won, but the work is not done. As we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage, let us all honor those who fought for our right to vote by recommitting ourselves to the long road towards equal rights for all."

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