Wisconsin State Law Library

Gilkey v. McKinley

75 Wis 543 (1890)

Women had the right to vote only in “school matters” and this was tested in 1887 by Olympia Brown’s case, Brown v. Phillips. The ability to vote in elections concerning school matters was additionally diminished when a close local election was decided by the margin of votes in a special voting box set aside for women. The runner-up sued, and the resulting Wisconsin Supreme Court decision, Gilkey v. McKinley, meant that clerks could not provide separate ballot boxes for women voting in certain local elections (which may involve “school matters”), nor could clerks inspect the women’s ballots to make sure they only voted on those items. It wasn’t until a decade later, in 1901, that the Legislature enacted a law requiring every precinct in the state to provide a separate ballot box for women voting on school matters. Prior to that time, women were unable to vote for school issues in elections which decided other matters or offices.

We have the Supreme Court briefs for this case in our library, and you can read them online as well: Gilkey v. McKinley.

Brown v. Phillips

71 Wis 239 (1888)

Olympia Brown led the Wisconsin Women’s Suffrage Association from 1884 to 1912. Beginning in 1886, women had been granted a limited right to vote in “any election pertaining to school matters.” The law headed for a test with the spring election of 1887. Olympia Brown, along with many other women, voted in her local municipal election for the offices of mayor, city clerk, comptroller, alderman, and supervisor. Brown argued that these offices were pertinent to “school matters” and were therefore permissible for her to vote on. When she was not allowed to vote, Brown sued the city.

While the circuit court agreed with Brown’s position, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ultimately ruled against Olympia Brown. You can learn more about this case on the Wisconsin Court System’s summary of famous cases: Brown v. Phillips and others.

We have the Supreme Court briefs for this famous case in our library, and you can read them online in two parts: Brown v. Phillips Part One, Brown v. Phillips Part Two.