This week, Utah celebrates the 100th anniversary of its ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which extended voting rights to women across the country. National suffrage leaders had been working for women’s voting rights for more than 70 years, but opposition and apathy had slowed the progress of the movement.
Utah’s suffrage story was unique. By 1919, when Utah ratified the 19th Amendment, Utah women had already gained decades of political experience as voters and legislators. In fact, it was female legislators who led the ratification process in both houses of the Utah Legislature.
State Sen.