Genealogy Chat

Hi

Can anyone tell me when electoral rolls first started and are they readily available?

Sam

The following paragraph is taken from a website talking about electoral registers in Croydon, but it gives dates when certain people were allowed to vote, so this would be the same for the whole country:-

Who Appears in an Electoral Register
Electoral Registers only list people who are entitled or Registered to vote. The laws governing entitlement to vote have changed repeatedly, usually with the effect of widening the electorate, and only since 1928 have all men and women of full age been able to vote. Even on modern electoral Registers, people who have not Registered to vote will not appear on the Register.

Before 1918, the right to vote was tied to property ownership. In 1883, when Croydon's electoral Registers start, the parliamentary electorate (i.e. those who voted for MPs) included all male owners and tenants (aged 21 or over) of dwelling houses, and lodgers paying at least £10 per annum who had lived at the same address for 12 months or more. The local government electorate (i.e. those who voted in the Borough Council elections) included men and women who had occupied rateable property in the borough for one year, paid rates, and lived within seven miles of the borough. In 1918 the rules governing local and parliamentary elections were simplified. All men aged 21 or over who were normally resident in the constituency were able to vote; all women aged 30 or over who were local government voters, or were the wives of local government voters, were given the parliamentary franchise for the first time. All women aged 21 or over were finally enfranchised in 1928. The qualification age for men and women was lowered to 18 in 1969.

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You will find Electoral Registers at the library for a particular area or in the County Records Office for the area you are looking for.

Kath. x

Hi Kath,

Very much appreciated, thank you.

Sam