1903. A bill was introduced for Municipal suffrage for tax-paying women by Representative George H. Allan of Portland. The Joint Standing Committee eliminated "taxpaying" and reported a bill giving Municipal suffrage to all women. The State Suffrage Association did an enormous amount of work in behalf of this bill, sending letters to 15,000 women representing 239 cities and towns who were paying taxes on approximately $25,000,000. Several thousand answers urging the bill were received, coming from every county and from 237 of the cities and towns. It was lost in the Senate by a tie and in the House by a vote of 110 noes, 29 ayes.
1905, 1907, 1909, no suffrage bills were reported out of committee.
1911. Four members of the Judiciary Committee made a minority report in favor of the suffrage measure and the House voted to substitute the minority report but the Senate refused to concur.
1913. A new resolve asking for submission of a suffrage amendment was drafted by George H. Allan and introduced in the Senate by Ira G. Hersey, which gave a vote of 23 ayes, 6 noes. In the House the vote was 89 ayes, 53 noes—only six more votes needed for the necessary two-thirds.
1915. A joint resolution to submit a full suffrage amendment passed the Senate by 26 ayes, 4 noes; the House vote by 88 ayes, 59 noes—ten more votes needed for the two-thirds. Introduced by Representative Lauren M. Sanborn.
1917. The resolution was adopted in the House February 21 by 112 ayes, 35 noes; unanimously adopted by the Senate February 22. In signing it the next day Governor Carl E. Milliken said to the suffrage leaders: "You have appealed to reason and not to prejudice. Your campaign has been a very fine example of what a campaign should be." The amendment was defeated at the polls in September.
1919. In March an Act granting women the right to vote for Presidential Electors, prepared by George H. Allan, was introduced in the Senate by Guy P. Gannett of Augusta and in the House by Percival P. Baxter of Portland. The joint committee by 8 to 2 reported "ought to pass." The hearing before the Judiciary Committee was called one of the best ever held. Lewis A. Burleigh of Augusta, editor of the Kennebec Journal, and Professor Frank E. Woodruff of Bowdoin College made the principal speeches. Telegrams were read from U. S. Senator Fernald and Representatives Ira G. Hersey, John A. Peters and Wallace H. White, Jr., urging the passage of the bill. The "antis" were present in force and made a hard fight. They were fully answered by Mrs. Nancy M. Schoonmaker of Connecticut. An effort was made to attach a clause to the bill referring it to the voters but it was thwarted, Senator Leroy R. Folsom of Norridgewock making a strong speech against it. In the House a still more determined effort was made to secure a referendum but it did not succeed. Speeches were made by Frederick W. Hinckley, Percival F. Baxter and Elisha W. Pike, legislators, and Mrs. Katharine Reed Balentine, chairman of the Legislative Committee, and Miss Mabel Connor, president of the State Suffrage Association. On February 26 the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 25 ayes, 6 noes. On March 19 it passed the House by 85 ayes, 54 noes.
The favorable vote was obtained after six months of quiet, continuous and intensive political work by the Legislative Committee. Members of the Legislature worked for the success of the bill; the Governor supported it and the press was largely in favor.
The anti-suffragists immediately announced their proposal to bring the Presidential Suffrage Law before the voters under the initiative and referendum, upon petition of at least 10,000 legal voters filed within a specified time. The effort to secure these names lagged and without doubt would have been given up had it not been for Frank E. Mace, former State Forest Commissioner, who organized committees all over the State at the eleventh hour and petitions bearing 12,000 signatures were filed July 3, within 90 days after the Legislature adjourned, as required. As there was doubt about the constitutionality of this referendum, the State Supreme Court, on July 9, 1919, was requested by Governor Milliken to decide. On August 6 the Court rendered its decision that the Act came within the provisions of the initiative and referendum. As the petition did not ask for a special election the Governor sent out a proclamation for the referendum to be submitted at the next general election Sept. 13, 1920. The Federal Suffrage Amendment was declared to be adopted on August 26 but there was no way in which the referendum could legally be omitted from the ballot. Therefore on September 13 the women, already having full suffrage, went to the polls to vote on getting partial suffrage and the official count showed 88,080 ayes, 30,462 noes.
Ratification. Governor Milliken called a special session of the Legislature for November, 1919. In his message he recommended the ratification of the Federal Amendment in the strongest possible manner, saying that if only one woman in Maine wanted to vote she should have the chance. The anti-suffrage forces of the entire country were concentrated on Maine at this time to prevent ratification and it was with the greatest difficulty that a movement to postpone action until the regular session was defeated. The amendment was ratified in the Senate on November 4 by 24 ayes, 5 noes; in the House on November 5 by 72 ayes, 68 noes. After the vote was taken an attempt to reconsider was made but was unsuccessful.