Was a man/woman required to prove entitlement to be added to the electoral register?

[JEP]

Could anyone answer a query I have about qualifying for the electoral register in the period 1922 to 1932. Would the voter be required to prove entitlement by producing a birth certificate for instance? The chap I am researching was old enough to vote but would he be required to prove that.

Thanks,
Jin.

 

[John Young]

Re: Was a man/woman required to prove entitlement to be added to the electoral regist

Hello JEP or Jin whichever you prefer & Welcome,

As far as i know without researching my old "family history "look-ups the Electoral Register (Qualification for it)
did not apply to every person around those years,,Certainly it wasn,t until 1928 that all Ladies over 21 could vote.

I think around 1922+ Men could qualify to vote if they "owned" property/shops/business,,not sure if Renters of
property qualified ? others on site may know better info for you,
Modern times the local Governmental/Council dept,s always seem to know who resides where & who is eligible
to vote in Local & General elections,, nobody i know has ever had to prove their qualification for eligibility so i
can only guess that a similar system was in effect then (Big brother has been watching for,,,ever eh! )
Good luck,,,John

 

[JEP]

Re: Was a man/woman required to prove entitlement to be added to the electoral regist

Thanks John,
Jin will do nicely its my name. JEP my initials.
Its all a bit of a mystery. The problem is as follows. The guy I am researching was not renting the property, the rental was done by his mother in law. Did she add him to the register in 1919? The mystery being the names he uses, his name changes on every register and certificate, as does his age. He is a mystery man with seemingly no history before moving to Ladywood in 1918. According to his 1918 marriage cert. he is 30 and yet 50 on his 1933 death certificate. If he had to show his birth certificate to prove entitlement then I would at least know we have the right name for this guy.
His mother in law would know him by the name he used at marriage and record him as such however when she moves on and he takes over the rent in 1925 he is then recorded by the name of the person I suspect him to be, the one on his birth cert. Did he show this certificate to the authorities to rent the property or get his vote? If I could answer that I could solve the mystery of his true identity.
Its a mystery that is disturbing my sleep and had me at the computer for many a long evening.
Thanks again for your kind help.
Jin.

 

[sistersue61]

Re: Was a man/woman required to prove entitlement to be added to the electoral regist

Jin, silly question, but are you sure his death cert says 33 not 38? Some of the script is less than clear, and that would explain the age discrepancy.
Sue

 

[JEP]

Re: Was a man/woman required to prove entitlement to be added to the electoral regist

Hi Sue,
Yesthe date is correct. All the evidence is pointing to him being one person with 2 identities. Actually checking my facts he was recorded 29 on Christmas Day 1918 and 50 at death early 1934, the latter fits the person I think he is as do the christian names he is using on the 1925 voters, this is following the departure of his mother in law and after he rented the property in his own right. He is listed as able to vote in Parliamentary but not local elections.
I have his signature from the 1911 and if I could find something with the guys signature dating from the 1920's then I could compare. Unfortunately I looks like the vicar filled and signed the marriage certificate, I wonder if there is another copy in the St. Marks register that has his signature?
Jin.

 

[wam]

Re: Was a man/woman required to prove entitlement to be added to the electoral regist

Given that he was living in someone else's rented property, he probably first qualified to vote in 1918 when all men over 21 were given the right to vote. Before that he would have to have "occupied property or land with an annual rateable value of £10" although the value may have changed since 1884 when that came in.

 

[JEP]

Re: Was a man/woman required to prove entitlement to be added to the electoral regist

Thanks Wam,My query really is how did the authorities in 1925 verify the person was eligible by age, name etc? Anyone can claim to be 21 but would they be required to prove it? I am looking for the reasons why the person I am researching used his full name on the voters for 1925 when on previous records (voters and BMD certs) he had used a slightly different one every time and then suddenly in 1925 we have his correct name. I suspect this chap was hiding from the past so why use the full name in 1925. Quite apart from possible transcription and recording errors there is something about his records that point to a past he wished to leave behind.
From 1920 to 1922, his mother in law was renting the property and included him on the electoral roll, although he was only able to vote in Parliamentary elections, she recorded his name as the one she knew him by from marrying her daughter, then in 1925 she moved out and he is using the full name I think is on his birth certificate, assuming he is the chap I think him to be. If I can discover how eligibity was verified then I can prove the two men were indeed one person. A mystery that is puzzling and keeping me awake.
Jin.

 

[mikejee]

Re: Was a man/woman required to prove entitlement to be added to the electoral regist

I think often when another person fills in a form they just put in the name they know a person by, whereas when you are filling out your own form you are likely to include your own full name, even if you do not normally use all the christian names

 

[JEP]

Re: Was a man/woman required to prove entitlement to be added to the electoral regist

Possible but of all the other records he completed himself this is the only one where he used this name. The chap is constantly changing his name, so slightly it is hardly noticable when you consider one record but when you put them all together there seems to be a thread running and none of which could be explained by transcription or recording errors. I will solve this but will probably deeper wrinkles with the frowning.