Clara Elizabeth Chan Lee

Clara Elizabeth Chan Lee (October 21, 1886 – October 5, 1993) was the first Chinese American woman to register to vote in the United States. She registered to vote on November 8, 1911, in California following the passage of Proposition 4 in California, nine years before the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Political activities Lee registered to vote at the Alameda County courthouse on November 8, 1911. thumb Clara Elizabeth Chan Lee registering in 1911, together with Emma Tom Leung (left), while their husbands stand behind them. Lee was a founder of the Chinese Women's Jeleab (self reliance) Association, created in 1913. The association promoted women's rights in both the U.S. and China. She was a member of the YWCA and the Fidelis Coterie club.

Personal life Clara Elizabeth (Yee Miew) Chan was born October 21, 1886, in Portland, Oregon. She was the daughter of the Methodist Reverend Chan Hon Fun (Chan Hon Fan) and Ow Muck Gay. Lee was married to Charles Goodall Lee, the first licensed Chinese American dentist in the United States. She died October 5, 1993, in Alameda, California, and is interred in Oakland.