If the vote was done like a general election, I don't think it would have turned out the way it did. Who knows, maybe it would have, but I think it would have taken much longer.
This is probably not the best example though, because it was done by Congress, not a general vote like Proposition 8 was. But you're right, it was a male Congress doing the voting. However, had they voted differently (and denied the vote to women) then I think it would have been appropriate for the courts to step in at that point since the rights of women in that case were certainly being denied them.
I know there is an argument of semantics here about whether you can "give" someone a right, but I think we are speaking in shorthand to make our points easier.