In the Spotlight on Election Day

Factoring into President Wilson’s support was New York’s pivotal passage of women’s suffrage in November 1917 and the Democratic Party’s concern about the impact of women voters on the upcoming midterm elections. Shadowed by news media, New Yorkers Carrie Chapman Catt and Mary Garrett Hay were photographed casting their first votes in November 1918. Both were instrumental in achieving suffrage in New York and nationally. When the twice-married Catt died, she was buried next to Hay, under a shared tombstone: “Here lie two united in friendship for thirty-eight years through constant service to a great cause.”