The Suffragist Who Told Olympia She Was Already a Voter
Bessie J. Savage tried to register in Olympia in 1895, arguing the state constitution had made her a legal voter. When the city clerk refused, she took him to court.
Olympia, June 22.—Special.—Mrs. Bessie J. Savage, a prominent woman suffragist, walked into the city hall today and asked City Clerk Graham to register her as a voter of the city of Olympia. After he had recovered from the first shock of surprise, Mr. Graham informed her he could not comply with her request, as he knew no law by which he was authorized to register women. The city clerk was served with a writ of mandamus to appear in the superior court to show cause why he should not register Mrs. Savage. She claims that she was a legal voter at the time of the adoption of the state constitution, and by the terms of the document became a full-fledged voter and entitled to be, and to have, the same privileges of suffrage as any male citizen.
“She claims that she was a legal voter at the time of the adoption of the state constitution, and by the terms of the document became a full-fledged voter and entitled to be, and to have, the same privileges of suffrage as any male citizen.”
Savage's argument that the state constitution had already made women voters was part of the long, uneven fight that Washington women finally won in 1910. The scene of a woman being turned away at city hall still echoes in today's battles over who gets to register and vote.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.