Our History

How We Began

Arthur Denny, founder of Seattle, proposed woman suffrage in the first legislative meeting in Olympia in 1854. He lost on an eight to nine vote. The Washington Territory Woman Suffrage Association was formed in 1871 in Olympia. The territorial legislature gave women the vote in 1883. Women lost their vote in 1887 when the Territorial Supreme Court ruled that Congress did not intend to give territories the power to enfranchise women.

Women were unable to vote for delegates to the State Constitutional Convention in 1889. Woman suffrage was submitted to the voters as a separate amendment to ratification of the constitution. It failed again in an 1897 vote.

In 1895 the first convention of Washington State's Equal Suffrage Association was held. Washington Territory was known for its suffragists. With differing styles, the persistent Emma Smith DeVoe and the direct and indomitable May Arkwright Hutton worked for the common cause of women's suffrage in Washington State. By 1907, the Washington Equal Suffrage Association had several thousand members, and in November of 1910 the amendment to the state constitution allowing women to vote carried by nearly two to one. This made Washington the fifth state to give women the right to vote - nine years before the 19th Amendment to the US. Constitution extended the vote to all the nation's women.

The League of Women Voters of the United States was first projected at the Jubilee Convention of the National American Women Suffrage Association in 1919. The League of Women Voters of Washington was organized the next year. Seattle and Tacoma were the first two local Leagues in the state. In the early days the League of Women Voters of Washington supported state legislation pertaining to protection of children in fields of labor, health and education. At the present time there are twenty-one local Leagues around the state.


Centennial Events Around the State

No events available

Past events

13 Oct 2020 Making our Voices Heard: Beyond voting - what can we do to enhance political voice for all? (LWVBWC)
06 Oct 2020 Imperfect Democracy Discussion: Exploring historical & contemporary threats to the franchise & political voice (LWVB-WC)
08 Aug 2020 CANCELLED: Women Power the Vote Banquet (LWV B-F)
18 Jun 2020 CANCELLED Making Our Voices Heard (LWV-BW)
21 May 2020 CANCELLED Voting Access (LWV-BW)
16 Apr 2020 CANCELLED Diversity & Demographic Change (LWV-BW)
19 Mar 2020 Imperfect Democracy (LWV-BW)
14 Mar 2020 CANCELLED Battle for the Ballot: Women and the Vote (LWV S-KC and WA)
03 Mar 2020 Lesson Plans on Early Spokane Suffrage Workers Presented by Civics Teachers in City of Spokane High Schools
27 Feb 2020 Author Event with Elaine Weiss (LWV-BW)
26 Feb 2020 Centennial Celebration of the Founding of the League of Women Voters (LWV-KC)
22 Feb 2020 League Birthday Luncheon (LWV-SC)
21 Feb 2020 Quilters - A Musical Play (LWVCLA) Runs weekends Feb 21 thru Mar 8
17 Feb 2020 Presentation on Formation of LWV (LWVSA)
15 Feb 2020 Centennial Celebration (LWVTC)
14 Feb 2020 Opening Centennial Gala (LWV-BW)
14 Feb 2020 100th Birthday of the League Celebration (LWV-MC)
14 Feb 2020 LWV Cake Celebration & Suffragette Display (LWV-PA)
14 Feb 2020 Cataloging and Archiving Pullman LWV Records in WSU Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections (LWV-PA)
14 Feb 2020 Birthday Party for the LWV (LWVWI)
10 Feb 2020 Centennial Speakeasy (LWV S-KC)
07 Feb 2020 League & YWCA Unity Tea (LWV-BW)
30 Jan 2020 Shattered Ceilings; Selected Readings (LWVCLA)
18 Jan 2020 One Woman Show - Miss Lillian; A Life of Some Significance (LWVCLA) 2 nights
17 Jan 2020 Women's Suffrage and the Struggle for Inclusion (LWVCLA)
16 Jan 2020 Registering Future Voters for Good Citizenship and Temperance Day (LWVSA)

Centennial Resources

Your Vote Tabloid

A collaboration between LWVWA and the Spokesman-Review, this tabloid includes a history of the US suffrage movement and useful information on how government in general and the electoral process in particular works in Washington State. Available as an interactive website and as a downloadable PDF.

Op-Ed: "This Women's Equality Day, stop romanticizing the 19th Amendment" by LWV-US CEO Virginia Kase in The Hill, 8/26/2019

A thoughtful meditation on the early fight for women's suffrage, and how that fight frequently prioritized white women's rights over the rights of people of color. She ends this essay with a call to use these lessons of the past to ground our work going forward in a more intersectional approach: "So, as we celebrate this great achievement, we do so with recognition that women’s suffrage was not perfect. Progress towards a more perfect democracy is often messy, but we can’t allow the ends to justify the means, especially if perpetuates oppression. Let us use the lessons of our history to inform our present and our future. Let us seek out ways to ensure all eligible voters have their voices heard and their votes counted."

Votes for (Some) Women: A Timeline

An annotated timeline prepared by Laura Edmonston, Deputy Law Librarian for the Washington State Supreme Court.

LWV-US History

A new, interactive historical timeline highlighting the League’s achievements over our 100-year history.

LWV of Bellingham-Whatcom County: "Find out more: Who got the vote? Who fought for the vote?"

Resource page pulled together by LWV-BC. Includes readings and videos on the history of suffrage in the U.S.

Suffrage Reading List by League of Women Voters of Ohio
Suffrage Discussion List by League of Women Voters of Ohio 



The League of Women Voters of Washington is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization.
The League of Women Voters of Washington Education Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. LWVWA Education Fund contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law. The League of Women Voters Education Fund does not endorse the contents of any web pages to which it links.

League of Women Voters of the United States

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software