She voted in the Presidential Election of 1872

In the presidential election of 1872, which pitted Horace Greeley against the incumbent, Ulysses S. Grant, Anthony, and 15 other women turned up to cast their ballots. They participated in the New Departure campaign of the women's suffrage movement by registering to vote at a neighborhood barbershop.

Given that women were not allowed to vote at the time, this was both a symbolic act and civil disobedience. (However, Anthony voted in favor of President Grant.) Anthony begged to be "arrested properly"—that is, in the same manner, a man would be—when she was subsequently kindly asked to go to the station to face arrest by a police officer. Although this motion was granted, her trial was not entirely impartial. She wasn't allowed to give a testimony, and the judge told the jury to convict her.

In the end, Anthony was given a $100 fine, which she refused to pay. She was dubbed obstinate by some and resilient by others. Susan started personally pleading with Congress every year to grant women the right to vote in 1860. She traveled to Congress in 1877 with a petition bearing the signatures of over 10,000 Americans, but on the floor of the chamber, she was essentially laughed at. She persisted in making this appeal until 1906, the year of her death, despite widespread mockery from many. Even though she had a significant impact on the suffrage movement, she was never able to exercise her right to vote. Thirteen years after her passing, the 19th Amendment became law.