Stolen Suffrage New Jersey women had the vote, but it was taken away. According to the state constitution drawn up by the Provincial Congress of New Jersey in 1776, women had the right to vote in that state. It may have been an oversight, but the document, nonetheless stipulated that "all residents" meeting age and residency requirements and worth at least £50 could vote. It made no reference to sex. The women of the state had not petitioned for suffrage and, oddly enough, they seemed quite indifferent to it. There is no record of a New Jersey woman voting before 1790. But activism appeared in 1797, when John Condict of Newark ran against William Crane of Elizabeth for a seat in the state legislature. Condict barely won in a tight race – and he nearly lost when, at the last minute, a group of some 75 Elizabeth women turned out to cast their ballots for their hometown candidate. After that eye-opening election, women of all ages – including some that were underage – were literally hauled to the polls in carriages and wagons by political candidates and party leaders who were eager for votes. At an election held in 1807, the people of Newark and Elizabeth battled over the location of a new courthouse. Women were thrown into the fight by both towns in a contest that was virtually a carnival of skulduggery. Boys even dressed as women to cast ballots. Shocked by this "saturnalia of corruption and abuse," the New Jersey lawmakers quickly passed new voting laws ending the women's right to vote and barring them from the polls. If you know of any other topic related Internet resources in New Jersey having a website, please email the Name and URL to Jersey-mall and we will try to include it in our NJ Resources.