Electoral rolls - more details
On our web site there are images for the Electoral Register, as well as a
searchable index for the Registers we have scanned. As usual, the index has
been created by computer software from the images of the Registers, and although
it has been manually "scrubbed" there are so many entries (currently about
10.5 million) that it is not possible to be sure the index is 100% accurate.
Please note although there is no charge for viewing a set of results, you will need
to be logged on and will need to have a valid page view credits voucher, or a subscription.
The search window allows you to enter various search words. The search will
attempt to match the words you enter and return the results from the index.
For example, if you enter:-
- a name, it will return all the entries for that name
- a name and a street, it will return all entries for that name in
the street you have entered
- two names, it will return all matching name entries that occur
in the same street
- a street, it will list all entries for a street
- two names and a street, all of the above
Once you have a set of results, you will be able to filter the results by date, by ward and by street.
Please note that the search has now been set up to allow a "keyword" search
in the "Address/Other" box. This is useful if, say, you want to find all
the people who belonged to the same Regiment in the 1918 Absent Voters list,
More on this in the Regimental Histories section of the "What's available" page.
As the index is not 100% accurate, if at first you do not find a match, try entering
only part of the name or address and using an asterisk as a wildcard. For
example, entering "Will*" for a name will find all entries for "Will"
as well as those for "William".
Once you have a set of results, you can sort those results by any field in the table
presented by clicking on the heading, which will be underlined. Please note
that results are presented 10 to a page, and that to access subsequent pages you
should click on one of the page numbers that appear at the bottom of each page of
results.
Frequently asked questions
What do the abbreviations mean under the qualification
column in the post 1920 Electoral Rolls?
The abbreviations indicate the criteria by which the voter has qualified
to vote. For example, "R" indicates a Residency qualification, "O"
an Occupation qualification and "NM" a "Naval or Military" qualification.
The abbreviations have changed a little over time as the legislation has varied
(for example, in 1928, women were given the right to vote). A definition of
the meaning of the abbreviations appears on the first page of each polling district,
and samples are provided via the links below.
For the 1945 Electoral Roll the abbreviations used in the index
are ones which we have inserted, and relate to the different registers in each ward
in which the voters were recorded. They are:-
- BP - Business Premises register
- CI - Civilian Residence register
- SE - Service register
- RR - Ratepayers register
I am not at the moment entirely clear on the qualification to vote in each of these
sections. BP & CI are quite clear -
a qualifying business premises, and a qualifying period of residence at an address.
SE is, I understand (but have not yet confirmed), the World War
2 equivalent of the Absent Voters list for World War 1, although it only contains
the home address of the service person. RR is, I assume,
someone who pays rates to Birmingham Council but is not resident in the area, and
who therefore qualifies to vote.
These separate registers continued until 1948, when the qualification to vote became
solely based on residence.
Why are there two sets of abbreviations in the qualification
column in the 1920 - 1939 Electoral Rolls?
The Electoral Register records those entitled to vote in parliamentary elections
as well as in local elections. However, in the period from 1918 until at least 1939
different criteria were used in Parliamentary Elections to determine the entitlement
to vote in comparison to Local Elections. On the Electoral Roll, the first set of
abbreviations provide the qualification for Parliamentary Elections, and the second
set for local Elections. Where there is a line or hyphen the voter may not vote.
It is quite possible that a voter may be entitled to vote in Parliamentary Elections,
but not in Local Elections - or vice-versa.
Search the Electoral Roll