Trump to posthumously pardon Susan B. Anthony, convicted of voting illegally

The move comes as Trump trails Biden in the polls with female voters.

August 18, 2020, 2:53 PM

5 min read

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he is issuing a posthumous presidential pardon for Susan B. Anthony, a leader of the women's suffrage movement who was found guilty of voting illegally -- as a woman -- in the 1872 presidential election.

"Later today, I will be signing a full and complete pardon for Susan B. Anthony. She was never pardoned. Did you know that? She was never pardoned," the president said, calling the move "fantastic."

Trump made the announcement at a White House event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment -- which ensured women the right to vote. It was ratified on Aug. 18, 1920, 14 years after Anthony died.

President Donald Trump takes part in the signing of a proclamation on the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment during an event at the White House, Aug. 18, 2020.

"She was guilty for voting. And we are going to be signing a full and complete pardon," Trump said.

Although he didn't say so specifically, the symbolic gesture appeared aimed, at least in part, at female voters Trump is looking to court ahead of the election -- as polls show the demographic currently prefers former Vice President Joe Biden.

It also comes amid Trump's relentless claims, without evidence, of widespread fraud if there is universal mail-in voting in November's election, and mounting concern over United States Postal Service disruptions that Democrats argue endanger the voting rights of millions of Americans planning to vote by mail due to the pandemic.

While Trump -- the "law and order" president -- has amplified fears of illegal voting heading into the 2020 election, the irony is not lost on some that Anthony was arrested for just that.

In a widely publicized trial in 1873, Anthony protested what she called "high-handed outrage upon my citizen's rights" and said she would "never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty." She never did, and the authorities declined to take further action.

Women's Suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony, circa late nineteenth or early twentieth century.

The president first teased on Monday he would pardon a "very, very important" person, only adding at the time it would not be leaker Edward Snowden or Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser.

Anthony does not fit the typical model for a Trump pardon, usually reserved to those he personally knows.

Most recently, Trump recently granted a controversial clemency to his longtime political adviser Roger Stone, who was convicted on several charges related to Russian interference in the 2016 election, including lying to federal officials.

Notably, she has faced criticism in recent years as some argue she sidelined Black women in the suffrage movement.

ABC News' Jordyn Phelps contributed to this report.

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