Clio Logo

Prior to statehood, women earned the right to vote in school elections in 1883 and that continued after statehood in 1889. North Dakota was close to enfranchising women in 1893; a bill granting women suffrage passed both chambers of the state legislature, but the speaker of the House refused to sign it. Women hoped that the governor would still sign it into law, but the bill was “lost” on its way to his office. The House then expunged the record of mentions of the bill. Legislation about women’s suffrage continued to be introduced to the legislature, but the women’s suffrage movement in North Dakota was relatively quiet until 1912. With new support for the movement, suffragists finally saw a bill passed by the state legislature in 1913 but law was then defeated in a 1914 general election 40,209 to 49,348 votes. Another attempt in 1915 did not pass through the legislature. In 1917 North Dakota Women were granted limited suffrage: women could vote for presidential electors, county officials, some city officials, and township officers, but not for members of the state or national legislature. North Dakota ratified the 19th Amendment on December 1, 1919.


Governor Lynn Frazier signing the 1917 women's suffrage bill, granting partial suffrage for North Dakota women (State Historical Society of North Dakota)

Picture frame, Table, Event, Monochrome

Votes for Women League and Women's Christian Temperance Union tent at a 1914 county fair (State Historical Society of North Dakota)

Recreation, Uniform, Event, Team

Elizabeth Preston Anderson was one of the leading suffragists in North Dakota

Forehead, Hair, Head, Eye

"North Dakota and the 19th Amendment," National Park Service. August 1, 2019. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/articles/north-dakota-and-the-19th-amendment.htm.

"Topic 8: Suffrage." North Dakota Studies. State Historical Society of North Dakota. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://www.ndstudies.gov/gr8/content/unit-iii-waves-development-1861-1920/lesson-4-alliances-and-conflicts/topic-8-suffrage/section-1-introduction.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Peterson, Cally. "100 Years of Votes for Women: How the Ballot was Won in North Dakota." North Dakota Living. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://www.ndliving.com/content/100-years-votes-women-how-ballot-was-won-north-dakota.

Peterson, Cally. "100 Years of Votes for Women: How the Ballot was Won in North Dakota." North Dakota Living. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://www.ndliving.com/content/100-years-votes-women-how-ballot-was-won-north-dakota.

"Timeline of women's suffrage in North Dakota." Wikipedia. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_women%27s_suffrage_in_North_Dakota.