Women's Votes Count

By: Lilly Thumm

When I was in elementary school, my teachers had us participate in a mock election. We didn't know anything about the very real candidates we were casting our votes for, but we cast them anyway. The choices were Barack Obama and John McCain. These names meant nothing to us but meant a lot to our parents and teachers. While I remember this happening, I don't recall who won. There was no stake in it for me.

This is no longer the case.

Suffragists prior to 1920 faced challenges all around them in their efforts to make change. One of those challenges is something everyone can relate to today. The Spanish flu swept the nation in 1918, and much like our own pandemic, the US shut down gatherings and large group meetings nationwide for public health and safety. Grassroots organizing was these suffragists’ foundation–the Spanish flu meant no more meeting or marching.

Still, they found ways to raise support through a "personal touch." Suffragists spoke to neighbors, dropped off pamphlets, and were published in local newspapers. They appealed to people by explaining that their right to vote was "a proper reward for their wartime sacrifice." They kept fighting despite disease standing in their way.

One suffragist, Aloysius Larch-Miller, fought through influenza. A tribute to her says she "disobeyed the doctor's orders and attended a democratic convention, where ratification [of the 19th Amendment] was being attacked." She won her debate against the state's attorney general and died from pneumonia the next day.

Aloysius Larch-Miller is one of many women who suffered through their journey to securing voting rights. In 1917, in an event deemed the "Night of Terror," thirty-three protestors were beaten and locked in "punishment cells." Three years later, voting rights were won, but these women were assaulted for it to happen, creating what National Geographic has referred to as a "new definition of female patriotism."

Miriam Martinez, a Democrat and senior at Butler University, reflects on what modern female patriotism might look like. "I think it's being able to be a leader, knowing to stand up against obstacles and limitations, especially when it comes to gender inequality," she says. "It's not something easy."

Peyton Greenlee, a senior at Butler University and a member of the Butler College Republicans, also considers female patriotism today. "Female patriotism might be advocating for the women around you and making sure that there's equal rights--and not just for women, but everyone around you," she says.

Greenlee and Martinez considered their own experiences with voting as women.

"When I turned 18," Greenlee says, "it was a huge priority for me to vote when some of my friends didn't care. I think that, early on, understanding the values of being able to have a vote is really important."

Martinez says, "My first memory of voting was for the 2020 presidential election… It was so memorable for me because it was also my mom's first time voting. [My parents] became citizens around 2016."

When asked why she votes, Greenlee said it was because of a desire to see positive change and wanting to be a part of that. She recognizes the value of having a choice in who represents her but also believes there are problems with voting in America.

"I think we're becoming lazier over time," she says. "I think that you should have to--if you have the access to--get up and go into a polling booth… I completely disagree with mail-in voting. I chose to do, or tried to do, a mail-in ballot and it was extremely difficult. My vote didn't count even though I did everything."

Greenlee expanded on her point and explained that she lives five hours away from her polling location which is out of state. “I think there should be more access to [voting]. I find it a little weird that when I voted last year, the first thing when I opened up the ballot was, ‘Do you want to be a mail-in voter for the rest of your life?’ and that’s such an interesting thing. I think there’s a lot of value in going in and showing up and voting.”

The importance of voting is something Martinez also could relate to when she thought about her family and said, “I think also with my background, I want to make sure that my family members, for those who don’t have the opportunity to vote, that I’m able to be a voice for them.”

Voting rights for women have come a long way, but there are still improvements to be made when it comes to accessibility. Not everyone can vote in person, if at all. Mail-in voting may help some but can lead to confusion if constituents aren’t sure how to make their vote count.

Make sure your vote counts. Register to vote and find your polling location for November 8. Casting your vote honors the women who fought for the right to vote. Your actions can redefine the modern definition of female patriotism.