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Electoral Registers

Poll books were introduced in 1696 when sheriffs were first required to compile records of the poll in county elections. Usually divided by parish they list the name of each voter and the candidate(s) for whom he voted.

As the franchise did not become universal for men & women until 1928, Poll Books include only a small proportion of the population.

Poll Books were effectively abolished by the 1872 Ballot Act. Electoral Registers are usually available in most counties every year since the 1832 Reform Act except 1916-17 and around 1940-44. In 1832 they included only male owners of larger properties and tenants. The 1867 Reform Act extended the franchise to male owners of property worth £5 per annum and tenants paying £12 per annum, and in 1884 to all male householders and lodgers paying £10 per annum. The Representation of the People Act of 1918 introduced a universal male franchise and included all women over 30. In 1928 the female qualifying age was reduced to 21, and to 18 for both men & women in 1969.

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