OLYMPIA…One hundred years ago the Washington Legislature approved an amendment to the state’s constitution giving women the right to vote. Senate Republicans are celebrating this important anniversary through a resolution in honor of women and an exhibit that highlights the role of Republican women in the suffrage movement and the impact women have had in the history of our state and nation. They are also inviting the public to a lecture on the topic on April 13 from 12:15 – 12:45 p.m. in the Irv Newhouse Building on the Capitol campus.  

“Our nation’s and our state’s history are filled with Republican women who have taken leadership roles, pressing for the ideals laid out by our founding fathers and, ultimately, paving the way for future leaders,” said Senate Republican Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla. “I saw this firsthand in former Senator Jeanette Hayner, whom I was honored to succeed nine years ago. Senator Hayner achieved the highest legislative rank secured by a woman in our state Legislature – that of Senate majority leader. It’s important to take this opportunity to recognize Senator Hayner and the other Republican women who have come before and after her who have embodied leadership and vision for our state and our nation.”

Women won the right to vote from the Legislature in 1883, during Washington’s territorial years, but the territorial Supreme Court overturned the law on a technicality. The 1909 Legislature – which was 93 percent Republican – passed the amendment and voters approved it in November 1910. As the fifth state in the nation and the first state in the 20th century to approve women's suffrage, Washington helped restart the nationwide campaign, setting the stage for passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.   

Senator Linda Evans Parlette is co-sponsor of Senate Resolution 8628, a measure commemorating the 100th anniversary of the submission of the women’s suffrage amendment to the people of Washington state and expressing gratitude to the 1909 Legislature and the citizens who voted in 1910 to support the measure.  

“Over the years I have been proud to be part of the advancement women have made in so many areas, including the area of representative government,” said Parlette, R-Wenatchee, Senate Republican Caucus Chair and the first woman senator to represent the 12th Legislative District. “One of the women who showed this spirit of advancement was Representative Eva Anderson, who represented the 12th District in the House from 1949 to 1960 – she ended her service a full 37 years before I began serving our constituents. It’s a real honor to be part of a long and proud tradition of women leaders – like Representative Anderson – in Washington state.”  

On Monday, April 13 the public is invited to attend a brown bag lecture on women’s suffrage in Washington and across the United States. The lecture, offered by Washington Women's History Consortium Coordinator Shanna Stevenson, will take place from 12:15 – 12:45 p.m. in the Irv Newhouse Building basement conference room (Room B-2), 215 Snyder Ave. SW, in Olympia. The public is also invited to tour the suffrage centennial exhibit on the building’s main (first) floor. They may view the pictures and read the resolution on the Senate Republican Web site at www.senaterepublicans.wa.gov/suffrage2009.

—30—