WHEREAS, The women of California won the right to vote after a decade-long effort culminating on October 10, 1911, when a majority of California men voted for political equality and passed the women’s suffrage amendment to the California Constitution; and

WHEREAS, The struggle for political liberty was waged without violence or animosity, speaking to California men from all walks of life and finding support in all corners of the state; and

WHEREAS, California was only the sixth state in the nation to approve political equality, approving women’s suffrage in California nine years before the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified; and

WHEREAS, With little central organization, supporters throughout the state worked in cooperation with each other, dividing up the state and the responsibilities of the intensive eight-month campaign to best utilize the abilities of all, winning the support of editors, teachers, ministers, the Governor, the Legislature, and finally a majority of the state’s male voters; and

WHEREAS, The innovative California campaign broke new creative ground in promoting “Votes for Women” by incorporating the latest in advertising and publicity techniques including electric signs, automobile tours, giant billboards, open-air speeches, leaflets in five languages, colorful citywide displays, and countless other new means of outreach; and

WHEREAS, The enfranchisement of California women was ensured by farmers, businessmen, and working men in small towns, distant counties, and rural areas who responded to the call to “Give Your Girl an Equal Chance With Your Boy” and who overcame the opposition in the largest cities; and

WHEREAS, The women’s suffrage amendment, initially thought to be defeated, triumphed after delayed returns from rural areas swung the election in women’s favor, passing by less than 1 percent of the vote, 125,037 to 121,450, an average margin of one in every voting precinct in the state; and

WHEREAS, The victory in California doubled the number of women in the United States who could vote, offered new hope to supporters throughout the nation, and for a time made San Francisco the largest city in the country where women could vote; and

WHEREAS, The intensive statewide campaign in small towns and rural areas calling for “Justice for California Women” proved to be an inspiration to supporters around the world and helped encourage women’s suffrage in other states; and

WHEREAS, Women voters immediately used their new powers responsibly and to the credit of the state, and formed civic leagues and associations for the betterment of California; and

WHEREAS, This successful, historic effort by courageous and resolute citizens of all races and origins dedicated to the ideal of true democracy has nearly been forgotten and has for too long been denied its rightful place in the history of our state and nation; now, therefor, be it