Records and Sources…..Electors and Jurors

Those persons entitled to vote at early local and national elections and serve on various juries, comprised rather select groups of men!

The social upheaval of the First World War led to the Representation of the People Act 1918, giving the vote to all men over the age of 21 and to certain women over the age of 30. It tripled the electorate from 7.7 million to 21.4 million, with women accounting for about 43% of the electorate. The Act also provided for the creation of an annual electoral register of those entitled to vote.

Finally, universal suffrage was enacted in 1928 and all adults were included on the lists of electors.