[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 10 (Thursday, January 16, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S280]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





 SENATE RESOLUTION 475--RECOGNIZING THE LEADING ROLE OF UTAHNS IN THE 
FIGHT FOR WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE AND CELEBRATING THE SESQUICENTENNIAL OF THE 
 FIRST VOTES BY WOMEN UNDER THE EQUAL SUFFRAGE LAW OF UTAH ON FEBRUARY 
                                14, 1870

  Mr. ROMNEY (for himself and Mr. Lee) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 475

       Whereas, on February 10, 1870, the territorial legislature 
     of Utah passed an Act granting women the right to vote, which 
     was signed into law on February 12, 1870, by Acting Governor 
     Stephen Mann;
       Whereas, on February 14, 1870, women voted in the Salt Lake 
     City election, becoming the first women to vote under an 
     equal suffrage law within what is now the United States;
       Whereas, in 1887, Congress revoked the voting rights of 
     women in Utah;
       Whereas, on November 5, 1895, the new Utah Constitution was 
     adopted with a provision stating, ``The rights of citizens of 
     the State of Utah to vote and hold office shall not be denied 
     or abridged on account of sex. Both male and female citizens 
     of this State shall enjoy equally all civil, political and 
     religious rights and privileges.'';
       Whereas, on November 3, 1896, Martha Maria Hughes Cannon, 
     who will be honored by a statue in the United States Capitol 
     in 2020, was elected to the Utah State Senate and became the 
     first woman to serve as a State senator in the United States; 
     and
       Whereas, in 1919, women's suffrage was extended to all 
     United States citizens with the adoption of the 19th 
     Amendment to the Constitution of the United States: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the leading role of Utahns in the fight for 
     women's suffrage and the adoption of the 19th Amendment to 
     the Constitution of the United States guaranteeing that the 
     ``right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be 
     denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on 
     account of sex''; and
       (2) celebrates the sesquicentennial of the first votes by 
     women under the equal suffrage law of Utah on February 14, 
     1870.

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