TOMS RIVER – A ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote will be held with keynote speakers made up of notable women of Ocean County.
The event is scheduled for 3 p.m., Feb. 11 in historic Courtroom One of the Ocean County Courthouse in downtown Toms River. The public is invited to attend. The ceremony will commemorate New Jersey’s Ratification of the 19th Amendment.
“The right to vote freely and without interference is by far one of the greatest privileges we have here in the United States,” said Ocean County Clerk Scott M. Colabella. “The suffrage movement, some of which was anchored in New Jersey, was unrelenting in securing that privilege for all women, enfranchising them with all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship they deserve. And while the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on Aug. 26, 1920, the action was taken by New Jersey six months earlier on Feb. 9, 1920.”
Ocean County was the only county in New Jersey to support a referendum in 1915 to amend the state constitution extending suffrage to women, Colabella noted.
The program recognizes women who play a key role in public service in Ocean County. Scheduled speakers include:
- State Superior Court Assignment Judge Marlene Lynch Ford: the first woman to serve as Assignment Judge in Ocean County; first woman to serve as Ocean County Prosecutor; one of six women elected from Ocean County to serve in the State Legislature.
- Ocean County Freeholder Virginia E. Haines: the second woman to be elected to the Board of Freeholders in the county’s history; former state Assemblywoman.
- Barbara Lanuto: first woman to serve as Ocean County’s Deputy County Clerk.
- Ocean County Assemblywoman DiAnne Gove: the sixth woman to represent Ocean County in the State Legislature.
“All of these women bring so much to the table as public servants and also as role models to young women who may be interested in pursuing public office,” said Ocean County Freeholder Gary Quinn, liaison to the Ocean County Clerk’s Office. “This anniversary highlights the challenges and the resulting opportunities that came from the suffrage movement.”
Ocean County Historian Timothy G. Hart will also speak on this important milestone.
In an effort to encourage people to vote, the Ocean County Board of Elections and County Clerk’s staff will be available to provide information and forms to register voters in addition to applications for voters to obtain a Vote by Mail Ballot.
