Colorado women's suffrage referendum, 1893
A referendum on women's suffrage was held in the U.S. state of Colorado on November 7, 1893 to ratify a proposed constitutional amendment, HB 118,[1] allowing women the right to vote. The amendment was drafted by lawyer J. Warner Mills of Denver and sponsored by Rep. J.T. Heath of Montrose County.[2] The amendment passed with support from the Colorado Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association, a grassroots coalition of women's organizations, churches, political parties, charity groups, unions and farmer's alliances. This was the first time in U.S. history that a state referendum had passed women's suffrage into law.
55% of the electorate turned out to vote, with 35,798 voting in favor and 29,551 voting against[3]
The following year, three Colorado women - Clara Cressingham, Carrie Clyde Holly and Frances Klock - became the first women to be elected to any legislature in U.S. history when they were elected to the Colorado House of Representatives.[4]
