It’s hard to think about Hillary Clinton’s history-making presidential run without considering that the 19th amendment, which gave (white) women the right to vote, was ratified just 96 years ago.
Clinton’s mother, Dorothy Rodham, was born on the same day the amendment was passed by Congress.
“I wish she could see her daughter become the Democratic Party’s nominee,” Clinton said when she became the presumptive nominee back in June. Rodham died in 2011, so was only able to vote for her daughter in a presidential primary in 2008, not a general election.
But there are many women around the country who were born before the 19th amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, and are casting a ballot for Clinton this November. And just in case you want to emotionally weep in front of your computer screen, you can visit an entire website devoted to them.
IWaited96Years.com features 30 voters and counting, ranging from ages 96 through 105. The site says the women featured “are an essential reminder of our nation’s possibilities as we strive to form a more perfect union.”
The idea for the site started after Sarah Bunin Benor posted a Facebook photo of her 98-year-old grandmother, Estelle L. Schultz, casting her absentee ballot for Hillary Clinton. The post soon went viral and after a friend suggested creating a site with similar photos of women around the cout, IWaited96Years.com was born.
While the site is set up to take submissions, Benor and her team are actively searching for women to feature, especially women of color. “We are especially concerned that most of the women on the site are white, so we’ve sent requests to several organizations, like the National Hispanic Council on Aging and the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, asking them to help us find submissions,” she said.
Each featured voter has a photo and small profile, which includes a few biographical details and the reason why she supports Clinton. For instance, 102-year-old Geraldine “Jerry” Emmett of Prescott, Arizona, says, “I am looking forward to the 1st Female U.S. President. I believe Hillary will do an excellent job as President not because she is a woman but because she is most qualified.”
Benor told The Huffington Post that she’s particularly fascinated by the stories of “women who seem to be living for this election.” Benor’s grandmother, for instance, was told she only had six months to live when she was diagnosed with a heart condition one-and-a-half years ago.
“She’s still alive, and I think it’s partly because this election has given her something to live for,” Benor said. “She said she wanted to live long enough to vote for Hillary Clinton in the primary, and then in the general election. Now she wants to live to see Hillary inaugurated.”
Nonagenarians or centenarians can submit a photo and share their stories for possible inclusion on the site. Head over to I Waited 96 Years if you know anyone who might qualify or want to help someone share their story.
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