Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate on Friday presented the Carrie Chapman Catt Award to Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf. The award goes to any school that registers at least 90% of eligible students to vote.
Rivermont Collegiate registered 100% of eligible senior students as part of the Carrie Chapman Catt Award, according to a Secretary of State release. They are one of 118 high schools in Iowa who have signed up to participate in the program, and one of 18 high schools that have met the requirements to be awarded the Carrie Chapman Catt Award this year.
This is Rivermont’s fifth year receiving the award. State law allows 17-year-olds to register to vote in Iowa. They can also participate in primary elections if they will be 18 years old in time for the general election.
The Carrie Chapman Catt Award is named after the famous Iowan who was instrumental in securing passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women access to the ballot box over 100 years ago.
Catt (1859-1947) was an Iowa State University alumna who devoted most of her life to the expansion of women’s rights around the world and international peace, recognized as one of the key leaders of the American women’s suffrage movement, according to the ISU website. Her superb oratory and organizational skills led to ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in August 1920, guaranteeing women the right to vote.
