ELECTORAL ROLLS OR REGISTERS OVERVIEW

In early 19th century very few people had the right to vote. In a survey of 1780 less than 3% of the total population were entitled to vote

Electoral registers in their current form have existed since 1832 following the Reform Act of 1832, which apart from the redistribution of parliamentary seats to give better representation, did not greatly increase the number of persons who had the right to vote. A number of such registers did not survive, copies from each district were sent to the Home Office who after 1868 only retained them for two years, so in fact the majority of the registers that have been transcribed are form local district registers. A timeline of eligibility is as listed below.

Prior to 1832 elections were generally voted upon by landowners and owner/occupiers of premises assessed at £5 or more. Details of these are shown in the Land Tax / Rates records from 1710 to 1900, transcribed on another page.

Voting for Parliamentary Elections

1832 to 1867
Only men who were 21 years of age or over, who owned a certain amount of land/property or who were tenants paying a certain amount of rent.

1867 to 1918
Men who were owners, tenants, or who were paying at least £10 per annum.

1918 to 1928
All men who were 21 years of age or over and all women who were 30 years of age or over.

1928 to 1971
All men and women who were 21 years old or over.

Some people could vote in local elections even if they could not vote in parliamentary elections, for example, unmarried women after 1869

Priestnall Registers for the period 1842 to 1945

Details of men in the armed forces who were away from home during the general election were identified in the electoral roll as AVL (Absent Voters List) and as well as the electoral roll, they have been appended to the bottom of these registers, the details including their rank, reimental number and regimental corp.

For ease of use, the transcribed registers are shown over 3 pages, Name Order, County Order, Year Order.