TYLER, Texas — It's the 100 year anniversary of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Penny Nance, President and CEO of Concerned Women for America LAC, says this election year is more important than ever.
"So much is done in order to ensure our ability to vote," Nance said. "Women were imprisoned, women were even tortured because of their unwillingness to just be relegated to the sidelines when it came to politics."
Nance says that this election, like so many before it, depends on women heading to the polls.
"I think women are that key demographic that candidates are already searching for right?" Nance said. "They're always looking for that, that perfect thing that brings us to their, to their side."
Marilyn Wills, President of the League of Women Voters Tyler-Smith county, agrees.
"Now women are more liberated, and maybe we're feeling that that's part of what's going on here is that we, we can actually make a difference," Wills said.
According to Pew Research Center, since 1984 women have voted at a slightly higher rate than men. On average, women show up to the polls 3% to 5% more than their male counterparts, but that doesn't mean there's a one-size-fits-all voting style.
"We don't vote monolithically," Nance said. "You know, we tend to, as married women tend to vote more Republican, single women tend to vote more Democratic. It's not, of course, that is not necessarily a hard and fast rule. I mean, a lot of women are independent. "
One key factor for women voters this year is the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I think COVID is probably on everybody's mind," Wills said. "And that has been probably the biggest topic but of course, it impacts everything that everybody does, and what's going on in their lives, their kid's education, their employment, and whether they can get out and see friends and family."
According to Pew Research, other key concerns are health care and the economy. Regardless of what candidate you like and why the important thing is that you make your opinion clear by heading to the polls.