The Schoolhouse Ballot
A rare glimpse into a local 1886 Seattle school board election where women cast roughly half the votes.
At an annual meeting in the schoolhouse, a great interest was manifested by the people of the district yesterday afternoon. When the polls were opened at 1 o'clock p.m., I. W. Van Brooklyn was elected inspector, E. B. Vroman and J. H. Boswell, judges, and Lyman Wood and J. Baker, clerks. Interest in the success of the candidates was keen and it was evident that a large vote was to be polled, and the result was that 357 people registered their preference. About half of the voters were women. The result of the election was as follows: For School Director, J. M. Frink, 203; John Magrath, 144. Frink’s majority, 59. For School Clerk, Edwin B. Briscoe, 207; F. A. Twombly, 141. Briscoe’s majority, 66. Among the scattering votes for school director were votes for Wa Chung, and one each for Hart Mott and Fairy Carroll. It is well that Mr. Frink has been elected director, as the school board will now consist of U. G. Stowe in the north part of the city, Dr. T. T. Minor in the eastern portion and Mr. Frink in South Seattle.
“About half of the voters were women. The result of the election was as follows.”
This 1886 election highlights an early era of Washington women’s suffrage—a right women held intermittently before full permanent enfranchisement in 1910. The parity of the electorate in this school vote mirrors modern civic engagement patterns, though the localized power of school districts remains as contentious today as it was in the late 19th century.
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