SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Today, we observe 100 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the federal government and states from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex.
The Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC) acknowledges the nearly 100-year movement that led up to the amendment’s ratification. While a big step forward, we recognize that history repeatedly tells us a single story that excludes the racism, sexism, and classism within the movement that discriminated against suffragists of color. Within the battle for the right to vote, countless Black, Native, Asian, and Latinx suffragists were ostracized by those they worked alongside in a movement themed around equality.
A century later, our nation is still challenged with barriers to the ballot box. The state of California understands the public health concerns of COVID-19 and is providing all Californians eligible to vote in this November 3, 2020, election with a vote-by-mail ballot in early October. The SSCCC continues to pursue the best interests of California community college students and has initiated a multistep get-out-the-vote campaign in association with our stances of strong support for civil rights issues including Propositions 16, 17, and 18. To register to vote in California or check your voter registration status, please visit registertovote.ca.gov.
The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation, composed of 73 districts and 116 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year. The Student Senate for California Community Colleges works to promote and safeguard access for current and future students to California public higher education in accordance with the Master Plan for Higher Education through system participatory governance, legislative and policy advocacy, and regional support and development and is the official voice of California community college students statewide.
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