Which amendment to the U.S. Constitution recognized women's right to vote?

The Nineteenth Amendment recognized women’s constitutional right to vote in the United States.

Congress proposed the amendment on June 4, 1919, after decades of organizing by women’s suffrage activists. It prohibits the United States or any state from denying or abridging a citizen’s voting rights on the basis of sex.

Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, providing the required number of state approvals. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby formally certified it on August 26, 1920.

The amendment was a major national milestone, but it did not immediately guarantee equal access to the ballot for every woman. Poll taxes, literacy tests, intimidation, citizenship restrictions, and discriminatory enforcement continued to exclude many African American, Native American, Asian American, and Latina women.

The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibited racial discrimination in voting for male citizens but did not bar sex-based restrictions. The Nineteenth Amendment addressed sex discrimination, while later laws and amendments removed additional barriers.