1867 Kansas suffrage referendums
On November 5, 1867, Kansas voters faced two referendums to change the state constitution and extend voting rights. One would have allowed women to vote by removing the word "male" from the voter qualifications. The other would have allowed Black men to vote by removing the word "white" from the same section.
Both measures were defeated. The women’s suffrage proposal received 9,070 votes in favor (31.35%) and 19,858 against (68.65%), for a total of 28,928 votes. The Black suffrage proposal received 10,529 votes in favor (34.95%) and 19,600 against (65.05%), for a total of 30,129 votes. In short, neither amendment passed.
This was the first-ever U.S. referendum on women's suffrage. The campaigns were complex and divisive, with strong advocacy from the Equal Rights Association led by Lucy Stone and Susan B. Anthony, but also fierce political opposition. The anti-suffrage campaign in Kansas drew support from Republicans wary of expanding rights to Black men and from other opponents.
Although Kansas voters rejected both amendments in 1867, Black men would soon gain the vote nationwide with the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870. Women in Kansas would not win voting rights in all elections for many years—municipal voting for women came in 1887, and full voting rights for women statewide did not arrive until 1912.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:01 (CET).