Reform and retaliation: Cora Diehl and the Logan County election of 1891

Abstract

This is an account of the election of the first woman in public office in the new Territory of Oklahoma. The Logan County elections of 1891 pitted the majority Republicans against a fusion of the minority Democratic and People's parties. Cora Diehl was the People's Party nominee for County Register of Deeds. Later she was endorsed by a fusion convention for that office. This fusion proved successful and Diehl was elected. But elements within her own party, as well as the Republicans, challenged her election-- a challenge that ultimately went to the Oklahoma Territorial Supreme Court which upheld Diehl's election. This article examines the elements that contributed to her defeat for re-election. Most significant of these was the adoption of the Australian ballot. The single ballot format, rather than the previously used partisan ballot, discouraged fusion. The new ballot had a specific impact on both Populist "mid-roaders" and on the expanding black voting population in Logan County. It is the assertion of this article that the Republican victory of 1892 was directly attributable to the antifusion nature of the Australian ballot and that the decline of the third party movement also resulted from the changed ballot format. As a result, women and blacks lost their political voice.