A rally is being planned to celebrate June 10, 1919, the date that Wisconsin became the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. 

In cooperation with LWV Dane County, plans are in place for a march around Capitol Square in Madison at noon on Sunday, June 23 to raise awareness of the 100th anniversary of Wisconsin’s symbolic “first to ratify” action.

Marchers will gather by the Forward statue on the Capitol Square for a short program highlighting the importance of Wisconsin’s first-to-ratify vote, how it gave hope to many women but not to all, before marching in song around Capitol Square. League members will be on hand to assist the public with voter registration. Families and friends can make a suffrage sash, enjoy free frozen vanilla custard, and view the Wisconsin Historical Society exhibit, The Woman’s Hour Has Struck, Wisconsin: The First State to Ratify the 19th Amendment, now on display in the Capitol Rotunda.