Synopsis of Miss Clay’s Remarks, August 31, 1916

The United States’ Elections Bill provides:    “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That women who are citizens of the United States and who possess the qualifications requisite for men for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures shall be eligible to register and vote in the States wherein they reside in all elections for Senators and Members of the House of Representatives in the Congress of the United States of America.”

            When in 1789 the Constitution of the United States superceded the Articles of Confederation the government ceased to be merely a league among several states, and formed a “more perfect Union” proceeding from and established by the People of the United States.

            Unlike the Confederation, which was formed by and acted only on sovereign states, the powers of the new Constitution  emanate from the people, and are to be exercised directly on them and for their benefit.  Thus, in addition to the State governments, another government of enumerated powers was established, so that now “in our political system we have a government of the United States and a government of the several states.  Each one of these is distinct from the others, and has citizens of its own, who owe it allegiance, and whose rights within its jurisdiction it must protect.” (Cruikshank Decision).

            Each of these governments have offices created by themselves, and filled in the manner prescribed by their Constitution or Laws.  The offices of President and Vice President of the United States and Senators and Representatives in Congress are all offices of the United States; created by its Constitution, which also directs how they are to be filled.

            Each State must appoint in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, the electors to elect the President and Vice President.  In 1913 the Legislature of Illinois granted the privilege to women, though they have not State constitutional right to vote for State officers, thereby departing from the uniform practice of all the other states, which prescribe that the presidential electors shall be voted for only by citizens who vote for the State officers.

            Originally, Senators were to be chosen by the Legislature of the States; but, by the 17th Amendment, which went into effect in 1913, Senators are now to be chosen by the people, with qualifications prescribed by the several states for the electors of the popular branch of their Legislature.

            But, from the establishment of the Constitution, the Members of the House of Representatives were to be chosen by the People of the several States, without any intervention of their legislatures.  As the people comprise, obviously, persons unfitted for voting by age, residence, etc., the Constitution, instead of itself prescribing the qualifications, adopts for its own electors the qualifications prescribed by the several States for the electors of their most numerous branch of the Legislature.

            When the United States’ Constitution was adopted the States had constitutions of their own.  With the exception of New Jersey (and possible Georgia) all the states vested the right of voting in male citizens only.  Congress left the machinery of providing for taking the votes in Federal elections to the States, though undeniably it has the right to prescribe the regulations for Federal elections.

            Now, because the idea of woman suffrage was unfamiliar to the people, or because the control of the elections were left by Congress entirely in the direction of the States, or for whatever reason it may be, it is certainly true that the distinction of the right of the people to vote for members of the House of Representatives, and the right of the States to prescribe qualifications have been confounded; and the right and the qualifications have been assumed to be one and the same thing; And, where states have not given women suffrage in State elections, it has been assumed that they have had the constitutional right to exclude them from the United States’ Election for the Members of the House of Representatives, because the State had the right to limit voting in the States to male citizens.

            The question, therefore, for suffragists to consider is:  Does the language in which the Constitution vests this right of voting warrant the custom of the States in regarding sex as one of the qualifications they may prescribe for voters at this election?

            The advocates of this Bill hold that it does not.  It is perfectly clear that no community in which there is only one sex can properly be called "the People" in the connection in which it is used in the Constitution.  National existence is dependent upon the functions of both sexes; as is clearly implied in the language of the Preamble in the words, “We, the people of the United States, in order . . . to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” etc.., thereby by necessary inference defining the People as consisting of two sexes.

            Now, because children are the posterity of men equally with women, the accurate and philosophical language of the Constitution does not permit the assumption that the male sex alone may receive unshared by women a right vested in “People” which it itself describes by the above quoted language, as consisting of two sexes.  Nor are the States given authority ever to eliminate one sex by the right given to them to prescribe the qualifications which shall be adopted for those of electors in the United States elections for Representatives.  For, if women are, in any manner, eliminated from the People who enjoy the right of choosing those Representatives, the Society which remained would no longer be the “People” within the meaning of the Constitution.