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
Alice Siegel, 96
Pittsburgh, PA
Gladys Hindes, 96
East Lansing, MI
Molly Hirshfield, 99
Highland Beach, FL
Garvin Colburn, 96
Chattanooga, TN
Ruth Hyman, 95
Born shortly after the 19th Amendment: January 2, 1921
Helen Snook, 102
Saratoga, NY
Mary Scenna, 101
New York, NY
Geraldine “Jerry” Emmett, 102
Prescott, Arizona
Katherine Blood Hoffman, 102
Tallahassee, FL
Rose Rak, 95
Derby, Connecticut
“Even though I am not 96 yet, I think 95 years is long enough to wait.”
Sebastiana Barone, 96
Brooklyn, NY
Sylvia Schulman, 99
Oceanside, NY
Mary Sue Wilson, 101
Bakersville, NC
I Waited 96 Years! Website | Facebook
via [Hello Giggles]