The Oregon Equal Suffrage Amendment was an amendment to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

of the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, establishing

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

, which was passed by

ballot initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...

in 1912. It had previously been placed on the ballot, initially by referral from the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

and later by popular initiative, in 1884, 1900, 1906, 1908, and 1910. When the initiative was ratified in 1912, Oregon became the seventh state to extend the right to vote to women. Ballot measure #2 on the state's 1906 ballot was the "first attempt in American political history to amend the constitution of a state by the direct initiative of the people, and without any intervention by the legislature." The

initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...

failed, with 36,902 votes in favor and 47,075 against. Abigail Scott Duniway was a longtime advocate for women's suffrage in Oregon.Moynihan, Ruth Barnes (1983). ''Rebel for Rights: Abigail Scott Duniway''. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. . p. 216. left, 500px, In March 1915, the '' Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger'' honored three early women in public service in Oregon, in the wake of the passage of the equal suffrage amendment: Governor_Oswald_West,_and_was_later_appointed_by_him_to_the_newly-established_State_Industrial_Accident_Commission._Kathryn_Clarke_(politician).html" ;"title="Oswald_West.html" ;"title="Fern Hobbs (left) was private secretary to Oswald West">Governor Oswald West, and was later appointed by him to the newly-established State Industrial Accident Commission. Kathryn Clarke (politician)">Kathryn Clarke (center), was appointed to a vacancy in the State Senate by West. Due to doubts about the legality of the appointment, Clarke insisted on a special election, in which she defeated two male opponents. Marian Towne (right), the first woman ever elected to the Oregon Legislature, served in the Oregon House of Representatives.

References

Oregon ballot measures 1906 referendums Initiatives in the United States {{oregon-stub