Dakota Datebook: Partial suffrage for ND Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Prairie Public

North Dakota women received partial suffrage in 1917 after Governor Frazier signed a bill that mirrored similar legislation in Illinois. The bill granted women “the Right to vote for presidential electors and certain other officers, and to participate and vote on certain matters and in certain elections.” Essentially, the bill let women vote on everything except where they were expressly prohibited by the state Constitution. To get anything else required a constitutional amendment.

So, while North Dakota women were still waiting for full suffrage, they were eligible to participate in the 1920 presidential election—sort of. Of course, complications arose as the date of the primary drew near.

Read more at: https://news.prairiepublic.org/post/partial-suffrage-nd