Jennie Carolyn (Sullivan) Van Ness (August 27, 1879 – September 15, 1967) was a leader in the women's suffrage and Prohibition movements in New Jersey.
[3] Van Ness worked as a substitute teacher at East Orange High School and was an active local civic organizer.
In April 1920, when the NJWSA was reorganized as the New Jersey League of Women Voters, she was made a regional director and also chaired a board to draw up a state program on legislative issues.
[3] In September 1920, Van Ness was one of two women, along with Margaret B. Laird, designated by the Essex County Republican Party to run on the twelve-person slate for the New Jersey General Assembly.
In the 1921 legislative election, "wet" (anti-Prohibition) candidates strenuously opposed the Van Ness Act as a violation of constitutional and personal liberties.