Susan B. Anthony House opens a polling place in Rochester, NY for the first time

Susan B. Anthony, a major suffragist living in Rochester, gathered a group of women outside her home on Madison Street a little more than 150 years ago and led them to a nearby polling place for the first time.

“Well, I’ve been there and done it,” she wrote in a letter that day in 1872. “Positive mood…so there’s some nice excitement ahead of us in Rochester.” Two weeks later, she was arrested because her right to vote was challenged simply because she was a woman.

This year, for the first time, Anthony’s home will be an early voting site — a nod to her past and a continuation of her life’s work, said museum President Deborah Hughes.

“At the core of Susan B. Anthony’s being was the idea that this democracy could succeed,” Hughes said. “And for her it had to be a government of, by and for the people – for all people. She has worked her whole life to get more people to the polls.”

This endeavor has been a long time coming for the Susan B. Anthony Museum & House.

How Susan B. Anthony’s Home Was Preserved

The organization dates back to 1945, when a group of Rochester women began to fear a day when the community would no longer remember the sacrifices it took to earn their right to vote. They placed a simple marker outside Susan B. Anthony’s home, where she lived with her sister and fellow suffragist Mary.

Efforts to preserve the house as a museum soon followed. In recent years, two new goals have emerged: establishing the museum as a local polling place and organizing naturalization ceremonies to celebrate new citizens.

Hughes said efforts to welcome voters into the building were enthusiastically fueled after New York introduced early voting in 2020. The Monroe County Board of Elections is allowing early voters to choose their polling place, unlike on Election Day when voters must cast their ballots at designated locations. within their own district.

This meant that the Susan B. Anthony Museum & House had the opportunity to be a polling place for all – a way to honor the inclusivity that the suffragist envisioned and worked for.

According to county reports, the museum saw about 1,400 voters during the first weekend of early voting. Some waited in line for more than an hour to cast their votes in a carriage house on the museum grounds. Many took exuberant selfies in front of the door.

It was proof that Susan B. Anthony had not been forgotten after all. “She is as relevant today as she has ever been,” Hughes said. “And she would be the first to say it’s about everyone.”

Hughes called the energy inspiring.

‘I hope that the people who vote here will have the same feeling of – I’m doing something importantshe said. “Your voice is so powerful.”

Want to vote at the Susan B. Anthony Museum & House? What you need to know

Early voting in New York runs through November 3. Voters can cast their ballots at the Susan B. Anthony House – 17 Madison St. – between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday or from noon to 8 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. (Note: The museum will not be an Election Day polling place on November 5.)

Madison Street has alternating parking on one side. The museum’s parking lot will be closed because of the lines of voters.

More: Early voting in Monroe County begins on October 26: here’s how to vote

Consider one guided tour of the museum after you vote – open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. – or a trip to nearby monuments honoring Susan B. Anthony. A bronze sculpture titled “Let’s Have Tea” celebrates her friendship with abolitionist Frederick Douglass in nearby Susan B. Anthony Square Park. A few blocks away, near 1872 Cafe on West Main Street, a bronze ballot box marks the spot where the suffragist cast her first and only vote.

Rochester voters also visited Susan B. Anthony’s grave in Mount Hope Cemetery with their “I Voted” stickers. Plastic covers will be placed over her gravestone protect it from damage.

— Kayla Canne covers community safety for the Democrat and Chronicle, focusing on police accountability, government surveillance and how individuals are affected by violence. Follow her on Twitter @kaylacanne And @bykaylacanne on Instagram. Contact us at [email protected].