Ladies Born Before Women Had the Right to Vote Are Proud to Cast Their Ballot for Hillary Clinton

Casting Ballot For First Female Candidate

In an election that has seemingly dragged on forever—with some particularly nasty moments—it’s easy to forget just how far we’ve come as a country. Women, for instance, earned the right to vote 96 years ago on August 18, 1920, and there are still some ladies alive who were born before this time. Now, they’ve got the chance to cast their ballot for the first female candidate of a major political party.

Sarah Benor is the granddaughter of 98-year-old Estelle Shultz, who was born two years before the 19th Amendment was passed. She proudly marked her absentee ballot for Hillary Clinton and commemorated the moment by posing for a photo. Benor posted the picture on Facebook and described the importance of this event—countless women fought tirelessly so that this could one day happen.

The post received a great response and inspired other nonagenarian women to share their portraits and stories. Benor and a friend now collect them and share them through the website I Waited 96 Years! The significance of this occasion is not lost on any of these women. Although they come from different backgrounds and parts of the country, they are united in their excitement, pride, and joy. Gladys Hindes, 96, summed it up best: “I get goose pimples all over knowing that I can vote for a woman.”

Meet the other voters on I Waited 96 Years!

Above: Estelle Liebow Schultz, 98
Rockville, MD

Hilary Clinton As First Female CandidateAlice Siegel, 96
Pittsburgh, PA

Womens Right To Vote Casting Absentee BallotGladys Hindes, 96
East Lansing, MI

96 Years Later Proud To Vote For First Female CandidateMolly Hirshfield, 99
Highland Beach, FL

Womens Right To VoteGarvin Colburn, 96
Chattanooga, TN

Casting Vote For First Female CandidateRuth Hyman, 95
Born shortly after the 19th Amendment: January 2, 1921

Casting Absentee Ballot For Hilary ClintonHelen Snook, 102
Saratoga, NY

Womens Rights To Vote Casting Ballot With PrideMary Scenna, 101
New York, NY

Voting For The First Female CandidateGeraldine “Jerry” Emmett, 102
Prescott, Arizona

Proud For Womens Rights To Vote For Female CandidateKatherine Blood Hoffman, 102
Tallahassee, FL

Waited 96 Years To Vote For A Female CandidateRose Rak, 95
Derby, Connecticut
“Even though I am not 96 yet, I think 95 years is long enough to wait.”

1920s Womens Right To Vote For First Female CandidateSebastiana Barone, 96
Brooklyn, NY

Waited 96 Years To Vote For Hilary Clinton As First Woman To Be A CandidateSylvia Schulman, 99
Oceanside, NY

Casting Vote For Hilary Clinton As First Female CandidateMary Sue Wilson, 101
Bakersville, NC

I Waited 96 Years! Website | Facebook
via [Hello Giggles]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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