Norfolk Voting Registers
Introduction
The Government of England and Wales had from at least 1430 a parliament
of elected members (MPs) who were sometimes referred to as Knights of the
Shire. Each county returned two members and each Borough also
returned 2 burgesses. This was slowly changed and is described
in the elections of MPs section later.
By-elections are caused by the death/resignation of one of the current MPs.
Other local officials including Aldermen and Sheriff's were also elected
(these two usually by Freemen) and some of these registers survive.
Examples of Voting Registers are poll books and election registers.
- Poll books are lists of those who voted in elections, so they do
not include everyone entitled to vote. They were printed after
each election and were usually alphabetical by hundred and then
by parishes that go to make up that hundred.
In each place voters are listed alphabetically.
Some include an index but this normally lists all the voters' names
begining with A,B... etc. together in the
order they appear in the book. Occupations also appear in some.
- Election registers
are lists of all those entitled to a vote and were compiled annually from
1832 and are reasonably plentiful. They have not all been listed.
Each of the areas contains a chronological list of all known voting registers
up to 1871 which enables one to see who people voted for.
The Ballot Act of 1872 brought in the secret ballot and so since
this time only registers of electors are available showing who was entitled
to vote. Some of these are by street, some alphabetical by voters' names.
Norfolk County (or division).
City/Town.
Castle Rising and Thetford returned MPs but there is no record of their
registers.
Other useful references.
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© Mike Bristow
December 2006
