KY women were allowed to vote in 1838, but the right was later revoked. What changed?

Editor’s Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and kentucky.com each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city’s history — some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange.

In 1838, more than 80 years before the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote nationwide, Kentucky became the first state to pass a law giving women a vote.

The legislation, however, was very specific and narrow. Only women who were the head of a household, meaning widows with children, would be able to vote, and only in school board elections. Still, it was a stunning step toward rights for women across the state and the nation.

The criteria prevented many women from voting, but the 1838 school suffrage voting rights for women law in Kentucky preceded similar voting measures in Kansas in 1861, Wyoming in 1869, and many other states. Internationally, it was ahead of the time too, coming before measures in England and New Zealand in the 1870s.

On Dec. 10, 1894, the Kentucky legislature passed a law allowing women to vote in school board elections. By then, another 15 states had passed legislation for partial or full suffrage for women. From 1895 to 1901, women participated in annual elections.

However, the legislation was repealed in 1902 when a large number of Black women in Lexington registered to vote. Only about half of the registrants actually voted, but their participation threatened white male legislators.

By 1912, school suffrage was reinstated, but voters faced a literacy test designed to suppress Black voters. The legislation allowed women to vote and to run for office in the new county school system. After tests in the courts stood, the legislation also stood. In 1913, five white women won elections for school superintendent across the state.

On Jan. 6, 1920, Kentucky became the 24th state to ratify the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. By August of that year, the 19th Amendment was ratified nationwide, guaranteeing the right of all U.S. citizens to vote, regardless of their sex.

Much of the suffragette efforts in Kentucky were spearheaded by Laura Clay, daughter of Cassius Marcellus Clay, and Madeline McDowell Breckinridge, the great-granddaughter of Henry Clay. Those women, and many others, would go on to form the Kentucky Equal Rights Association, the first permanent women’s rights organization in Kentucky, which went on to become the Kentucky League of Women Voters.

Have a question or story idea related to Lexington’s 250-year history? Let us know at 250LexKy@gmail.com.