In 1916, two adventurous, gutsy women—Alice Snitjer Burke, 39, and Nell Richardson, 25, both members of the National American Woman’s Suffrage Association—were determined to spread the message about the importance of women’s suffrage. With support from NAWSA, they volunteered to make an epic car trip across the country and back in a small Saxon roadster for “the cause.” At the time, few women drove cars, and automobiles were a big part of a major cultural shift from horses and buggies. Such a trip would be symbolic on many levels.
Their journey often made front-page news due in part to the novelty of seeing a woman drive a car, but Alice and Nell kept the focus on “votes for women.”
The Driving the Vote for Equality tour officially launched on March 1, 2026, at the New York Historical in Manhattan. A restored 1914 Saxon automobile—matching the make and model driven by Burke and Richardson in 1916—has begun retracing their cross-country route to promote congressional recognition of the Equal Rights Amendment. Former Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a longtime ERA champion, is spearheading the campaign.