Similar to the Ancient Greeks who established the world’s first democracy in Athens, there was no consideration given by America’s Founding Fathers in 1786 to the idea of women voting in elections. Only after decades of protest and bitter struggle by the Suffragettes and the work of the National Woman Suffrage Association , formed in 1869, did Congress ratify the constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote on August 18, 1920. Now, just over a century after that historic event and with less than two weeks until the US presidential election, a once-unimaginable dream could come true if America votes for the first black woman, Kamala Harris, to become president.
It would represent a victory by women, who now form the largest demographic group in US elections, both registering to vote and actually voting in greater numbers than men. But of more significance is the possibility ‘white women’ as a group will lean towards a Democrat in the November 5 election. In all but two elections over the past 70 years, the Republicans have been able to rely on majorities in this demographic.
Worst result this century While Democrats Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden won more women’s votes than their Republican rivals, they were not backed by most white women. Republican candidates Mitt Romney, in 2012, and Donald Trump, in both 2016 and 2020, had significant majorities of nine, six and seven per cent respectively in this cohort of voters. In the seven battleground states whe.