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People Are Dedicating Their Votes to Their Mothers and Grandmothers

2 minute read
US-VOTE-ELECTION
People vote for the next US president in the general election at a polling station in a school gymnasium in New York, November 8, 2016. Polling stations opened Tuesday as the first ballots were cast in the long-awaited election pitting Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump. / AFP / Robyn Beck (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)ROBYN BECK—AFP/Getty Images
By Maria Yagoda / People

Behind every vote, there’s a story … and, often, a woman.

On Tuesday, after hitting the polls, voters took to Twitter to tell the stories of the women who inspired them to vote in this historic election. The hashtag #DedicateYourVoteToAWoman, created by writer Ashley Ford, began trending in the morning during the first pre-work rush to the polls as people opened up about the mothers, grandmothers, daughters and friends who have made this vote especially meaningful to them.

Not every person who tweeted #DedicateYourVoteToaWoman was backing the first female presidential candidate — some even questioned the relevance of gender at all — but most tweeters took a moment to honor the women in their lives who made them proud to fulfill their civic duty.

Judging by the reactions to this hashtag, grandmothers, mothers and daughters are a massive motivating force in this election, just as they are in the existence of the universe.

This article originally appeared on People.com

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