SAN ANTONIO – Inside the historic St. Anthony Hotel, the fight for women’s right to vote once took shape.
According to Jill Torbert, president of the League of Women Voters of the San Antonio Area, the hotel was the site of early suffrage meetings, rallies and organizing that helped change the country.
Torbert said she found records of “a group of men and women meeting here in 1914.”
That history eventually helped lead to the formation of the League of Women Voters in Texas and San Antonio.
“The Texas League was actually formed here in 1919 here at the St. Anthony, and also in 1940, the local league had an organization meeting,” Torbert said.
More than a century later, Torbert said the league’s mission continues.
“Voting is the cornerstone of democracy, and we have to be vigilant about our voting rights and that’s what the league has always done,” Torbert said.
The organization’s volunteers work throughout the community to register voters, answer questions and help people understand when and how to cast their ballots.
“We go anywhere and everywhere,” Torbert said. “We do voter registration, but we always are encouraging people to participate in the next election.”
Torbert said that work is especially important as voting laws continue to change.
“There’s legislation that’s being passed on a statewide level,” Torbert said, “that would limit people’s ability to register to vote and to actually vote.”
As America approaches its 250th birthday, Torbert said civic participation remains essential.
“Democracy demands people being involved in it,” Torbert said. “If you don’t vote, it doesn’t matter.”
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