"It struck me, very young, that it was extraordinary that my father could vote and my mother could not.  I thought it was an indignity.  I couldn't bear the thought that she was denied so basic a right of citizenship."  So said Caroline Lexow Babcock who was born in 1882, lived much of her life in South Nyack, and became a leading suffragist in Rockland, New York State and the nation.

In August 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified stating that, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." It had been a long, arduous and often bitter 72-year struggle which enlisted millions of women and men over several generations.  Thanks to the book, Ladies' Lib:  How Rockland Women Got the Vote by Isabelle K. Savell, we have wonderful descriptions of the campaign in Rockland for suffrage.

Since 1920 we have witnessed great changes in the issues that have moved to the forefront of America's consciousness, largely because women were given a voice. When women vote, work and family issues become a priority.  Because of women's voices we now have Family Leave.  Child care has become an indispensable lifeline for working parents, with many government programs available to low income families.  Women's voices are heard on subjects ranging from education, the environment and health care to poverty and national security; and issues once thought of as "women's issues" are now understood as vital public policies benefiting all.

The right to vote is a precious one, one denied to women in many parts of the world.  We should remember what Americans did to gain the vote, and cherish our right to vote -- by voting.

Harriet Cornell of West Nyack is chairwoman of the Rockland County Legislature.