Florida is gearing up for the 100th anniversary of women securing the right to vote.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Friday that will create a commission to develop educational programs and other activities to mark next year’s centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote.
Sen. Lauren Book, who sponsored the bill creating the commission, said she thinks too many are unaware of the sacrifices and struggles women endured.
“I hope this allows young men and women to learn about the suffragists and the trials and tribulations they had to go through to earn the right to stand and be counted,” said Book, D-Plantation.
Congress passed the 19th Amendment on June 4, 1919, and it was ratified on Aug. 26, 1920. Florida did not take up the measure until 1969 when it ratified the 19th Amendment in a symbolic vote.
Women make up 30 percent of the Florida Legislature, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. While women have held high-ranking posts such as Senate president and lieutenant governor, a woman has never been elected governor of Florida.
The Centennial Commission will include historians, a member of the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame and others who will be appointed by the governor, speaker of the House and Senate president.
A website is being developed where people can apply to serve on the commission, according to Book’s office. Applications can also be submitted to the governor’s appointments office.
Skyler Swisher can be reached at sswisher@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6634 or @SkylerSwisher
