Women and The Vote

(Rochester, NY) – A new documentary spearheaded by Rochester-based filmmaker Linda Moroney of Low to the Ground Productions visits the gravesites of several suffragists at five cemeteries across New York State on Election Day 2020. Women and The Vote, premiering Monday, October 25 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV, is a mosaic-style documentary on the past 100 years of women's political equality, the present moment, and the possibilities for the future.

Moroney’s 2016 documentary, Election Day 2016, was the impetus for her new film, Women and The Vote. Election Day 2016, a collaborative film project with the Rochester Documentary Filmmakers, captured the more than 10,000 people who spontaneously visited Susan B. Anthony’s gravesite at Mt. Hope Cemetery on November 8, 2016 to pay tribute to America’s most famous suffragist.

Expanding on that same concept, Women and The Vote visits the burial sites of suffragists across New York on Election Day 2020. Interviews and verité footage of visitors at cemeteries in the Bronx, Sleepy Hollow, Auburn, Rochester, and Buffalo intertwine with rich historical elements to generate connections between New York's rich suffragist legacy and contemporary voters.

In addition to Susan B. Anthony, the film spotlights suffragists Shirley Chisholm, Alva Belmont, Harriet Tubman, Narcissa Cox Vanderlip, Mary Talbert, and Frederick Douglass. Archival footage and photos bring to life their important work in the passage of the 19th Amendment and the continued push for political equality.

Woven through the film are interviews with individuals, who came to visit the gravesites of suffragists, reflecting on their efforts on Election Day. Visitors both young and old share their stories on why they make this visit a tradition and their thoughts on the political world today. Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York; Deborah Hughes, President & CEO of the Susan B. Anthony Museum & House; and Samra Brouk, New York State Senator also join the conversation. 

A tribute to the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, Women and The Vote builds a bridge between the significant suffrage movement in New York state with contemporary voters. “Anyone can be a modern-day suffragist,” says Senator Brouk in the film. “Anyone can stand up and say I believe in everyone’s right to vote.”

This film is part of Woman and The VoteNYS, which provides a growing suffragist directory and interactive map to help individuals explore New York’s extensive and influential suffragist history. To learn more about this initiative at: WomenAndTheVoteNYS.com. 

The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House served as fiscal sponsor for this project.

Photo: Susan B. Anthony's gravesite
Credit: Provided by Low to the Ground Productions