CONWY County Borough Council has encouraged residents to “be like Martha” ahead of its local elections on May 5.

In less than two weeks, voters will go to the polls to decide on the representatives for both the county council and their town or community councils.

Martha Hughes Cannon was born on July 1, 1857 in Llandudno.

Her family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and emigrated from the UK to the United States in 1860, sailing from Liverpool to New York City.

They arrived in Utah in 1861; her father died three days later.

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In 1878, aged 21, she graduated with a degree in chemistry. She later graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1881, one of the few medical schools admitting women.

She returned to Utah to practise medicine, and became the resident physician at the woman-run Deseret Hospital. She married her husband Angus Cannon in 1884.

In a row regarding plural marriage, the US Congress revoked Utah women’s right to vote in 1887. The following year, Martha became a leader in the movement to regain that right.

She argued that: “No privileged class either of sex, wealth, or descent should be allowed to arise or exist; all persons should have the same legal right to be the equal of every other, if they can,” and that “One of the principal reasons why women should vote—is that all men and women are created free and equal”.

She was a featured speaker at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, to which the Chicago Record observed: “Mrs. Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon… is considered one of the brightest exponents of woman’s cause in the United States.”

In 1895, as Utah prepared to enter the Union, Martha became the first woman to register to vote in Salt Lake City.

When, in 1896, Utah became a state, and the third to grant equal suffrage, Martha ran for the new Utah State Senate, as a Democrat.

Winning the election, she became the first female state senator in the United States, the nation’s first female elected lawmaker.

As a state senator, Martha campaigned for improvements to public health and sanitation, improving women’s working conditions, the education of speech-and-hearing-impaired students, establishing Utah’s first school for the deaf and blind, and helped to establish the Utah state board of health.

She spoke in Washington D.C. in favour of extending the right to vote to all women in the United States, sharing how equal suffrage had made Utah better.

This goal was realised in 1920, as the US government extended the right to vote to all women.

Martha Hughes Cannon died in 1932 in Los Angeles, and was buried in Salt Lake City (credit for Matha’s story: KUER).

A statue in her honour stands outside the Utah State Senate in Salt Lake City, and another now stands in the US Capitol building's Statuary Hall.

Prior to next month’s local elections, a Conwy County Borough Council spokesperson said: “Elections are a democratic process where citizens in Wales from the age of 16 elect political candidates to represent them, and their interests, locally and nationally.

“In 2021, changes to the voting franchise in Wales now allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in the Senedd elections and local elections.

“Foreign nationals legally resident in Wales are also allowed to vote in the Senedd and local elections.

“Voting is the cornerstone of people’s involvement in democracy. The ballot box is the place where you get to have your say on who represents you at a local or national level, to make decisions and to act on your behalf.

“So many people are involved in movements for change worldwide. They are taking to the streets and using online social networks and communities to connect, express their voices, and campaign for change.

“They are fighting for sustainable development and a better future for current and later generations. They are passionate about issues like climate change, racial and gender equality, and LGBTQ+ rights.

“You can bring about political change. It can start with something as simple as completing your ballot paper. It can start with voting for change. It can start with voting for things you value.

“Your vote could influence things like how easy it is to get a local job, to find suitable and affordable housing, or what your council is doing to tackle climate change.

“Don’t lose your chance to have a say on issues that affect you. Be like Martha, and act on the things you value.”