Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey

Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for August 18, 2025

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
NOTD August 18 2025.jpg

By Scott Rasmussen

The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

August 18, 2025: One hundred and five (105) years ago on August 18, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in the United States. The ratification came in dramatic fashion, as the amendment needed just one more state to vote in favor, and Tennessee passed it by a one vote margin. The Tennessee State Senate had tried and failed to pass the amendment twice to this point, and a third try was to begin. A state representative named Harry T. Burn had been convinced to vote against it previously. In this third try however, he claims that his mother sent him a letter telling him to vote in favor of the amendment. Burn listened to his mother, and because of his changed vote, the amendment passed.

While this did make women’s suffrage constitutional, many states and territories had already given women the right to vote prior to this. Women and men had been fighting for women’s suffrage since the middle of the 19th century. In fact, Jeannette Rankin was the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives in 1916. That is four years prior to the Nineteenth Amendment’s ratification.[1][2][3]

Scott Rasmussen is the president of RMG Research, Inc. and founder of the Napolitan Institute.




Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.

To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.


Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.

The Number of the Day is broadcast on local stations across the country. An archive of these broadcasts can be found here.

Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

Ballotpedia is the nonprofit, nonpartisan Encyclopedia of American Politics.

Get the Number of the Day in your inbox


See also


Footnotes