---
title: "Nineteenth Amendment — Definition & Meaning | Model Diplomat"
description: "The Nineteenth Amendment prohibits voting discrimination based on sex, ratified in 1920, enfranchising 26 million American women."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/nineteenth-amendment"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1920, prohibits the federal government and the states from denying the right to vote on account of sex.
- When was the Nineteenth Amendment ratified and which state was decisive?
- How does the Nineteenth Amendment relate to the Fifteenth Amendment?
- Why was a constitutional amendment necessary rather than a court ruling?
- Did the Nineteenth Amendment immediately give all American women the vote?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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In November 1920, weeks after Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the Nineteenth Amendment, roughly eight million American women cast ballots in the presidential election that returned Warren G. Harding to the White House.

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