Women in the Hawaii Territorial Legislature

After the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom by white businessmen in 1893, the new rulers barred women from voting in the elections of the new Republic of Hawaii.

This had been understood as a part of the goal of the suffrage movement in Hawaii, influenced by the extent of women's political power prior to the overthrow.

[1] In October 1920, Mary Haʻaheo Atcherley of Oahu was running for Territorial Senate as a Democrat, and Helen Sniffen of Maui was seeking a seat as well.

Curtis P. Iaukea, then Territorial Secretary, did not believe he had the authority to remove the women's names from the ballot and deferred the issue to Attorney General Harry Irwin.

[4] However, in June 1922, a bill modifying the Organic Act to allow women to hold office in Hawaii passed in the United States House of Representatives.