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Media Advisory: W.Va. to commemorate 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote with program on Monday

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office has issued the following media advisory:

The West Virginia Women’s Commission and Coordinating Committee for the Centennial Celebration of the 19th Amendment will recognize and commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment in West Virginia with a series of activities on Monday, Feb. 17, at the State Capitol.

On March 10, 1920, after a contentious special session in the West Virginia Legislature, the Mountain State became the 34th state to ratify the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote.

A special ceremony celebrating this moment in state history will begin promptly at 4 p.m. on Monday in the chamber of the House of Delegates. Secretary of State Mac Warner will be joined by keynote speaker U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito and other state leaders to formally commemorate the state’s ratification. Senator Capito is the highest-ranking female elected official in West Virginia history. Click here for her bio.

Mary E. Johnson, Historian with the WV Division of Culture & History, will give a presentation on the unique circumstances surrounding West Virginia’s ratification of the amendment in 1920.

Senate President Mitch Carmichael, Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw and members of the legislature have also been invited to attend. Coordinating Committee Co-Chairs Melody Potter (State Republican Party Chairman) and Belinda Biafore (State Democratic Party Chairman) will be present for the ceremony.

The ceremony in the House chamber will last about 45 minutes and is open to the public. A reception will take place after the ceremony from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Culture Center, where current female members of the legislature will be recognized.

In addition to these events, more than 40 organizations from throughout the state will set up in the upper rotunda from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. At 10:30 a.m., Lida Shepherd will portray Susan B. Anthony in a speech given during Anthony’s 1872 trial for voting in a presidential election. At 12:30 p.m., a West Virginia Suffragist Experience presentation will be given by Renate Pore in room 460M (House Finance).

For more information on the WV Centennial Celebration of the 19th Amendment, click here.

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