Today is Thursday, November 5, 2020.

On this day in 1872, Susan B. Anthony cast her ballot in a U.S. federal election,

which was illegal at the time. Her activism would later lead to a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote

in the United States.

Welcome to Today in True Crime, a Spotify original from Parcast. Today we're covering suffragette Susan B. Anthony's illegal vote and the dramatic aftermath.

Let's go back to Rochester, New York, around 7 in the morning on November 5, 1872. In the early morning light,

52-year-old Susan B. Anthony made her way to a polling place at the West End News Depot.

Susan had been planning for this day for years. She and 15 other

women, including three of her sisters, were about to make history. Upon entering the depot,

Susan and her fellow suffragettes, were faced with three male election inspectors. They had confronted the same

three men four days prior and had demanded to be registered for the upcoming federal election.

The registrars refused at first, but Susan debated the finer points of the Constitution with

them until they concluded that they

had no choice but to let her register.

It was a wise move on their part not to stand in her way.

As Susan demonstrated time and time again, once she had decided on a course of action,

nothing could stop her.

With that indomitable spirit, Susan filled out her ballot.

She threw her support behind Ulysses S. Grant and the Republican ticket,

as that party was the only one to offer at least nominal support for women's rights. Susan handed her folded ballot to an election inspector

and watched as he placed it in a box to be counted.

Susan didn't think she would actually be able to vote that day.

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