Electoral Register accuracy question

[Andy J2022]

In theory the registrar of births, deaths and marriages was supposed to keep the Electoral Registration Officer informed of deaths, but I suspect this also didn't always happen during wartime.

[hanes teulu]

Western Mail, 15 Aug 1947

[hanes teulu]

Letters to the Editor tended to refer to the pre war practice of "... door to door enquiry in the spring ..." as a means of maintaining an accurate register. 

[Brian87]

"lists are exhibited in local post offices" - they'd struggle to do that nowadays!

Joking aside, thanks very much hanes for your coverage of this issue. it obviously caused controversy at the time and for those of us who were unaware of this - still does.

Many thanks again
Brian

[Chris Doran]

In past years before it all went online, someone delivered a form and came back for it in the next few weeks. If they never got a reply, they left a note saying where to post it to (supply your own stamp). If they never heard from you, you were removed from the register. This exercise always happened in the holiday month of August. Trying to trace people through the years, it's noticeable that there were often gaps when no election was expected, and they return when there was going to be one. This is so common that when someone is missing, I don't immediately assume they've died or moved away and take care to check a few successive years to see if their name comes back or they're replaced by a new occupier.

I sometimes wonder whether the August problem just applied here or whether it was the same month everywhere. What do other people remember?

[MollyC]

What seems to have happened in practice, at least in some places, is that if there was no reply, the register was left as it was, names were not removed.

The dates were changed at some point, at least by the 1970s.  The information was collected in October.  The draft register was made available in December, in libraries as well as post offices, and the register came into force on 1 February for 12 months.

It was around 2001 when privacy concerns closed public inspection of the draft and current registers.  An appointment was needed to check your own entry.  However registers prior to the current year seem to be available in libraries.

[rosie99]

Current registers are available online but do not contain the names of those people who 'opt out' of being on the 'Open Register'. 

When I worked in electoral registration late 1990's / early 2000's the canvasser had to knock twice to try and get forms back.  They were paid slightly extra if they achieved certain percentages of returns on their district, that was to encourage them to keep trying  .  The information on the register for forms not returned was often not changed immediately but noted for the next year.

[hanes teulu]

6 October 1945

I checked Hansard re. the debate on extending the wartime arrangements but this was not recorded. Another paper reported that "Mr Churchill" had not voted in his life " ... through one fault or another ..."