The U.S. Senate on July 2 unanimously approved a bipartisan resolution introduced by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) to designate August 2020 as National Women’s Suffrage Month.
Sen. Collins on the same day signed on as the lead original cosponsor of Senate Resolution 648 with sponsor U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the states and federal government from denying the right to vote to U.S. citizens on the basis of sex.
“Women across the country made countless sacrifices and worked tirelessly to ratify the 19th Amendment,” Sen. Collins said. “Though there is more work to be done, this resolution recognizes the brave women who fought for equal voting rights and commemorates this moment for generations to come.”
Following passage by the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, the 19th Amendment was ratified by three-fourths of the states on Aug. 18, 1920 and then added to the Constitution on Aug. 26, 1920.
“Our bipartisan resolution designating August 2020 as National Women’s Suffrage Month recognizes and honors the struggle to extend to women the most fundamental right in our democracy — the right to vote,” said Sen. Baldwin.
Among the 24 other lawmakers cosponsoring the resolution are U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Martha McSally (R-AZ), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Joni Ernst (R-IA).
Last year, Sens. Collins and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) led a bipartisan tribute with Sen. Baldwin commemorating the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment by the U.S. Senate.