Compiled annually, electoral registers can help us trace where our ancestors were living year by year and with whom they were living. This may be by district or specific address depending on the date of the register. Only those eligible to vote will feature meaning they cannot act as a complete census substitute. No children are named and women only reached voting equality with men in 1928, with both sexes able to vote from age 21. Electoral registers, also known as electoral rolls, are particularly useful at tracing ancestors who moved frequently or to trace more recent ancestors who do not yet appear in a released census return.
Research your ancestors on MyHeritage
Research your ancestors on MyHeritage
Poll BooksPoll Books
Prior to the introduction of electoral registers, voter information was listed in poll books. These date from 1696-1872 and record a small minority of the population of England and Wales. Only the wealthiest members of the population were able to vote in political elections. The information found within poll books includes:
- The names of those able to vote (only men were able to vote)
- Their qualification to vote
- The name of the candidate for whom they voted (secret ballots were not introduced until 1872)
- Voter's address, district and occupation (depending on the year)
Poll books can be found at local county record archives, The National Archives, British Library amongst other archives such as the Bodleian Library and the National Library of Wales. Some have also been digitised and are available online, including for free via the Internet Archive.
Electoral Registers from 1832 onwardsElectoral Registers from 1832 onwards
Early electoral rolls from 1832 onwards are listed alphabetically by surname, with rolls from 1918 organised by street for larger districts. To appear in an electoral register a person need to 'qualify' to be able to vote. These qualifications are given in each register up until 1948 along with a code, such as 'O' if they were able to vote due to their occupation or 'NM' if they were a naval or military voter. The information provided in each register varies depending on the date but can include:
- A person's name (sometimes with middle names)
- Any suffixes such as Jnr. for Junior or Snr. for Senior
- Their address or district
- Their parliamentary constituency
- The nature of their qualification
- The description of their qualifying property (may be the same as their home residence or a work address)
No electoral rolls were taken in the war years of 1917–1918 and 1940–1944. There was an absentee voter list taken of soldiers on duty in 1918, which provides their service details. Electoral registers were compiled several months before publication, so in the meantime a person may have moved or passed away. Whilst all adults eligible to vote are named, no relationships are given. Therefore a male and female may be living together but not be husband and wife. They may instead by a man and his female servant, a sister, cousin or other relation.
Where to find electoral registers for England and WalesWhere to find electoral registers for England and Wales
Electoral registers are held at the British Library and local county archives. Some have been digitised and are available online such as the Wales, Glamorgan, West Glamorgan Electoral Registers 1839-1925 and England, Norfolk Register of Electors, 1844-1952 record sets at MyHeritage. In other cases transcriptions are available, such as the England, Kent Electoral Registers, 1570-1907 record set at MyHeritage.
Eligibility to VoteEligibility to Vote
Initially in England and Wales, only wealthy males of the population were entitled to vote in elections. The first major reform in voting rights came with the Great Reform Act of 1832 which enabled male householders to vote if they paid £10 or more in annual rent. This still only covered around 15% of the male population. The Second Reform Act of 1867 extended the vote to further male householders. By the Third Reform Act of 1884, around two thirds of the male population had the right to vote.
Further change came with the Representation of the People Act in 1918 which granted the vote to all men aged 21 and over and women over 30 (if they met certain property qualifications). The Representation of the People Act of 1928 gave equal voting rights to women, removing the previous property qualification and lowering the age to 21. The voting age was further lowered for both sexes to 18 in 1969.
There are some exceptions to the above rules. For example, women may be found in municipal elections from 1867 if they were the rate payer and from 1888 for local council elections. The suffragettes are well known for their campaign to give women the equal right to vote. It can help to understand the eligibility of voters to recognise why an ancestor may or may not appear in a particular electoral register.
See alsoSee also
Explore more about Electoral Rolls in England and WalesExplore more about Electoral Rolls in England and Wales
- United Kingdom - Census & Voter Lists record collection at MyHeritage
- How to look for records of Electoral Registration at The National Archives
- Electoral Registers at Genguide
References