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Swainsthorpe : Absent Voters 1918 - 1921

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• The “absent voters’ lists” are registers of eligible voters who were absent from their homes. These are of particular importance for those whose fought during the WW1. Parliament passed the 1918 Representation of the People Act to reform elections in Great Britain and Ireland, and so men between 19 and 20 who were serving in the armed forces were given the right to vote and for the first time could register as absent voters. Absent voters lists also contain the names of anyone whose work was recognised by the Admiralty, Army Council or Air Council, such as merchant seamen, fisherman and those working for the Red Cross. The registers also include the names of many women, those overseas with the Women’s Auxiliary Army and other services that were supporting the war effort and were over 30.
• Applications for an absent vote had to be made by August for the autumn and by February for the spring. The registers were printed twice a year. The names of absent voters were sent to the Adjutant General’s Department of the War Office who then arranged for voting cards to be sent to men in the UK and ballot papers to those in France or elsewhere. Some were left out because of the rushed process. The first lists were completed by August 1918 and published that October. Subsequently, the lists may include names of men who were killed, missing or taken prisoner in the period of time between the compiling of lists and the publication of the register. After an election, the counting of votes was delayed by up to eight days to ensure the absent votes were included. This practice occurred during the First World War and for over twelve months after.
• Further information:
  • House of Commons Library
  • Norfolk Record Office
  • Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service

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