Everything Bremerton: A celebration of voting rights

Published 6:08 pm Friday, September 17, 2010

This past Friday, I had the pleasure of attending the League of Women Voters of Kitsap County event in celebration of the 90th anniversary of women’s right to vote. The suffrage movement and the 19th amendment was a significant period of history (1848 – 1920) that did not receive as much attention as it should have in either my public or private school educational years. Friday’s event really showed me how much I was missing when it came to knowing and understanding the road to the 19th amendment and how much of it I was taking for granted.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government. Members of the League work very hard to increase and improve the understanding of major public policy issues through education and advocacy. While I personally do not agree with about 50 percent of the Leagues positions or endorsements, I do very much admire and appreciate the time and effort they put into hosting candidate forums for local community races as well as higher profile state positions. By hosting these forums, the League provides a valuable and often underutilized service to the voters of this community. I would like to take a moment and thank them for that.

The upcoming general election is Tuesday, Nov. 2. I encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunities the League of Women Voters forums provide to view the candidates in person and hear what they have to say in their own words before deciding how to cast your votes. Upcoming forums are posted on the organizations website, www.lwvwa.org/kitsap so people can attend in person or instead choose the option of watching it on BKAT where it is rebroadcast several times the following weeks.

The struggle for the right to vote was a long, painful process. Let us honor those who did suffer on our behalf by not just casting a vote in the upcoming election, but by making sure that vote is an informed and educated one.