Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1920-01-21
WOMEN Will VOTE
IN NOVEMBER
wa Women Have Franchise Regard.
= of Whether or Not Amend
s%se. ut is Satisfied, Says At
+orney General.
CAN EN- .fESS CHOICE
FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS.
Attorney General Fully Explains the
Sufferage Rights of Women in
The State of Iowa.

! Davenport, Iowa,-Iowa women
have the right to vote for presiden-
tial electors next November, whether
| the federal amendment is ratified
by that time or not This is the most
important addition to their suffrage
rights made by the Legislature at its
last session.
An amendment to the state consti-
tuition would doubtless have been ef-
fectiye by this time, if the secretary
of state had not failed in making ef-
fective the action of the previous leg
islature and thereore set back the
state movement by couple of years.
But Iowa women can vote for pre-
sldent this year, and by the time OF
the next general election thereafter,
equal suffrage will have become
nationwide and questions as to wo-
mans status will be quite super
! fluous.
The following letter to a Daven-
port newspaper from Attorney Gen
eral Havner fully explains the suf-
frage rights of women in the state.
Dear Sir:-We have your letter
of Oct "a, in which you state:
Have women the right of suffrage
in the state of Iowa and to what ex-
J tent "
Have women the right to vote
on the question of establishment ofa
consolidated school district "
I'm answering your first inquiry
permit me to direct your attention
to section 1871 OF the code, which
provides as follows
'At all elections where women
may vote. no registration of women
shall be required; seperate ballots
shall be furnished for the question
on which they are entitled to vote:
seperate ballot box shall be provid-
ed in which all ballots cast by them
shall be deposited, and separate
canvass thereof made by the judges
OF the election, and the returns there
OF shall show such vote. The right
OF any citizen to vote at any city,
town or school election, on the ques-
tion OF issuing any bonds for NUM-
cipal or school purposes, and for the
purpose of borrowing money, or OF
the question of increasing the tax
levy, shall not be denied or abridged
on account of SEX
Section 2747 of the code further
provides that:
TO have the right to vote at a
school meeting person must have
the same qualifications as for voting
at general election, and must be at
the time an actual resident of the
corporation or subdistrict, in any
election hereafter held in any school
corporation for the purpose of fssu-
ing bonds for school purposes or for
increasing the tax levy, the right OF
any citizen to vote shall not be deniel
or abridged ON account of sex, and
women may vote at such elections
the same as men, under the same re-
strictions and qualifications, so far
as applicable"
Women over 81 years of age who
are owners of land in drainage dis
tricts may vote at the election of
} drainage trustees for such district
You will find the provisions govern
ing this matter set forth in section
19S9-a63 to 19S9-a73, supplemental
supplement, 1915. The Thirty-eighth
, general assembly by enactment of
chapter 353, gave to women the
right to vote for presidential electors
The foregoing statutes constitute
the authority for women voting in
this state. You will observe from q
reading of these sections that the
right of women to vote for public
officers is limited to that of presi-
dental electors and trustees of drain
age districts. They are given the
right, however, to vote on proposed
bond issues of cities, towns and school
corporations and also the right to
vote on "The question of increasing
the tax levy"
/ Our court has foreclosed our ey-
pressing an opinion on the question
OF women voting on the consolidation
of schools by it's opinion in State ex-
trel, VS.. Snyder, 16S n. w, 243.
wherein the right was denied"
As the ripest cherries are on the
top of the tree. so are the most de-