2010 marks the 100-year anniversary of women’s suffrage in Washington. So what did it take for women to get the  right to vote in Washington?  It was one step at a time.

One of those key steps was in 1867, when the Washington Territorial Legislature passed a law giving the right to vote to “. . . all white American citizens above the age of twenty-one…”  The law went on to be more specific, citing:  “. . . all other white male inhabitants of this Territory. . .“

Still, it was vague enough that women attempted to vote in 1869, but were rejected.  However, they did successfully vote in Thurston County in 1870, which led to a change in the law in 1871.