Going to the polls is something many take for granted. And, sometimes, citizens dont bother to go at all.
Thats why West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland is coming to West Virginia University on Monday, Aug. 22four days before the 85 th anniversary of ratification of the 19 th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
Secretary Ireland will talk about our voting privilege and its importance for all West Virginians, male and female, in a 4:30 p.m. program at Elizabeth Moore Hall on WVU s Downtown Campus * . * She willbe accompanied by two actresses portraying Womens Suffrage Movement pioneers, Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth.
Its a movement, and a moment in history, worth noting, Ireland said, because of the emotional and physical threat to the women who dared march for the right to mark a ballot. West Virginias young people, in particular, can pay their respects to that struggle by registering to vote, she said.
Thousands of determined women circulated petitions, spoke in their communities and marched down public streets,said Ireland, who began her political career 20 years ago as the first woman ever appointed to the City of Charlestons Board of Zoning Appeals.
Although some were harassed, and even thrown in jail, they persevered until they won the right to vote,she said.My statewide tour is to recognize and celebrate the success of their efforts, and to increase voter registration.
Shell also make stops at WVU Parkersburg, Shepherd and Marshall University and Piedmont Elementary School, in Charleston.
Ireland is a former public school teacher and business owner who has also served as a Charleston City Councilwoman, a member of the Public Safety Retirement Task Force of the Joint Committee on Pensions and Retirement and executive director of the West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board.
Her career also includes key leadership posts at Charlestons National Bank of Commerce; Jackson and Kelly PLLC ; and Jackson and Kelly Solutions LLC .
Shes married and the mother of four children.
