In 1938, Milton, Washington, pulled off one of the strangest election stories in U.S. history. They elected a mule. Yes, really, a mule named Boston Curtis won a local Republican precinct race. How on earth did this happen, and did Curtis actually have to do any work? Let’s find out the truth about what happened.
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Where and when it happened
Milton is a small town near Tacoma, Washington. The state’s primary elections took place on September 13, 1938, and locals went to cast their votes as usual, without knowing that a mule was one of the candidates on the ballot. There was only one person who knew what had really happened.
What office was actually won
The ballot slot wasn’t for city leadership, but for a Republican precinct committeeman. Essentially, this was a party position that helps manage neighborhood political stuff. But people voted for Boston Curtis because they were likely thinking it was a real person, not an animal. And certainly not a mule.
How Washington’s primary worked in 1938
Washington gave parties the same ballot sheets, and voters could pick whoever they wanted for each race, no matter the party. They put precinct posts on that same sheet. As such, many people likely skimmed right past the names without a second thought, and it was only in the 2000s that the state abandoned such a practice.
Who put the name on the ballot
So how did this happen? It was thanks to Milton’s own mayor at the time, Kenneth Simmons, who filled out the paperwork & submitted Boston Curtis’s “application.” He later claimed that it was meant to be a joke and didn’t think that the mule would actually win any votes. Some speculated he did it to prove how many people vote without thinking about the candidate.
How the filing was completed
Simmons pressed one of the mule’s hoofprints onto the paperwork instead of a signature. Yes, he used an actual hoofprint for the filing. It was this detail that made reporters fall in love with the story, which is probably why it spread so fast. Interestingly, the election officials approved the form without batting an eye.
What the ballots returned
When the votes were counted, Boston Curtis had received 51 votes and officially won the seat. However, nobody challenged it. Wire services picked up the story & newspapers from the U.S. to Canada were running quick blurbs about the “mule politician.” Time magazine also wrote a short piece on September 26 that helped to popularize the story even more.
What happened after the vote
There wasn’t a ceremony after the results came in. The precinct position had legal requirements that the mule obviously didn’t meet, so the seat was flagged as vacant almost immediately. In fact, the council treated it like any other election where the winner turns out to be ineligible. They had preparations in place, just not for mule candidates.
How long the “term” lasted
Technically, precinct committee officers serve until the next scheduled election. But Boston Curtis never officially held office. The vacancy rules kicked in as soon as the result was certified. The party didn’t leave the position empty for long. After all, they relied on these roles for their regular organizing, so while the mule “won,” there was no actual term. A real person stepped in later.
Whether the rules changed afterward
The election itself didn’t lead to sudden legal reforms. However, Washington did change how it handled vacancies & eligibility in the law. Modern statutes clarified that a precinct committee officer must be a registered voter and a party member, with such updates making the proceedings more explicit for cases like this.
What’s known about the mayor afterward
Kenneth Simmons didn’t disappear after his little stunt. Later, he played an important part in forming Bonney Lake, another town nearby, eventually becoming its first mayor in 1949. But it’s the mule prank that most people still remember Simmons for & it’s something people still talk about today.
The following sources were consulted in the preparation of this article:
