Virtual Panel on National Voter Registration Day Marks 100 years of Preserving the Right to Vote

Media Contact: Terry Goodrich, Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-710-3321
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by Cerenity Austin, student news writer, Baylor University Media and Public Relations

WACO, Texas (Sept. 18, 2020) — On National Voter Registration Day, Baylor University’s W.R. Poage Legislative Library, the Institute for Oral History and the Women’s and Gender Studies program, in partnership with the Waco NAACP, will present a virtual panel on “19: 100 Years of Preserving Voters’ Rights” at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 22.

Experts from Baylor’s history department, the Waco NAACP and the Waco League of Women Voters will discuss the history of women’s suffrage and contemporary concerns about restrictions on voting among American women and people of color. A Q&A with the panelists will follow the discussion.

Expert panelists include:

The discussion marks the centennial of the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states 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."

"As we face the most consequential election of our lives, commemorating the passage of the 19th Amendment will help us understand the generations-long fight that secured the voting rights of women and people of color,” Henry said.

This event supports the All-In Commitment made by President Linda Livingstone, Ph.D., and encourages students, faculty and staff to exercise their right to vote. The All-In Campus Democracy Challenge is a nonpartisan national organization created to inspire democratic engagement at colleges and universities.

"Voting is a right of citizenry that we shouldn't take for granted," Chan-Park said. "Your right to vote should be exercised regularly lest it wither away."

Baylor has partnered with the Andrew Goodman Foundation to help anyone in the Baylor community and beyond to register and vote on election day. The W.R. Poage Legislative Library, 201 Baylor Ave., houses national and state congressional research collections and has two volunteer voter registration officials available to assist with registration.

“Our forefathers and our foremothers suffered and even died so that all of us could have the right to vote," Turpin said. "Let’s honor them by using it.”

The event is free, but attendees must register online to receive credentials to join on Zoom. Click here for registration and more information on the event.

ABOUT THE BAYLOR UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The Baylor University Libraries support excellence in teaching and learning, enhance research and discovery and foster scholarship and success. Through its Central Libraries and special collections – Armstrong Browning Library, W.R. Poage Legislative Library, The Texas Collection and The Keston Center for Religion, Politics and Society – the Libraries serve as academic life centers that create knowledge through research resources and innovative technologies that empower the Baylor community and enrich academic conversations around the world.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 18,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.