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New York circa 1917. "Calm about it. At Fifty-sixth and Lexington Avenue, the women voters showed no ignorance or trepidation, but cast their ballots in a businesslike way that bespoke study of suffrage." National Photo. View full size.
1917 was not a regular election year (All right, you said "circa"). Women were not allowed to vote in New York before 1920 (some Western states had women's suffrage much earlier than the rest of the country.)
So, more information please. Who or what were these women voting for? And is there a way of identifying the year? It might very well be 1920. People didn't get new clothes every year; the fashions are a little out of date, but they could be wearing old dresses.
[Prior to passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, women already had the right to vote in 29 states. In New York state, suffrage was extended to women in 1917. - Dave]
"...and a Lady never allows her pinkies to touch those nasty ballots. That's right, raise it up just so..."
As a follow-up to looking at the photograph, I went back and did a little brushing up at Wikipedia, with the stories of the various states of the U.S. (as well as other countries), and the long road to the Constitutional Amendment.
Wikipedia reminds us that the presidential election of 1920 was the first such national election in which American women could vote. Goodness, that's not all that long ago, really.
[Only 88 years! - Dave]
Looks to me like a very reliable voting machine. Maybe we should adopt this technology in Ohio.
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