Hartford Voter Registration Records

Collection

Identifier: MS-Voter

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The voter registration records contain checklists of voters and voter registration cards from the City of Hartford. The cards contain some or all of the following personal information on registered voters: name, residence (including address changes within the city), caucus and party affiliation, ward number, date individual became eligible to vote, place and date of birth, dates of continuous residence, occupation and employer, sex, marital status, and naturalization data.

Dates

1840-2009

Creator

Hartford (Conn.). Court of Common Council (Organization)

Access Restrictions

The records are stored in a restricted area and therefore may not be available on a same-day basis.

Use Restrictions

See Hartford History Center’s Collection Use policy. Permission to publish from the Richard Welling Collection must be obtained in writing from the Executive Director of the Hartford History Center, and a copy of the published work may be requested by the Hartford History Center. The Hartford History Center reserves the right to refuse permission to publish, etc. to those who have not complied with its policies. Use of the collections will normally not be permitted for the purpose of promotion of commercial products and services or political campaigns. Hartford History Center at Hartford Public Library reserves the right to limit the number of photographic prints/captures and to restrict the use or reproduction of rare, fragile, or valuable objects.

Historical Note

The Office of the Registrar of Voters was established in the early 1860s. The Registrar is an elected position. The office is responsible for registering voters, the voting machines, polling place, and absentee balloting. When voting is complete, the office, in conjunction with a duly appointed moderator, compiles and tallies the votes. Once this has been done, the moderator sends a copy of the results to the Secretary of State and to the Town Clerk. The Hartford Voter Registration Records from the Town Clerk’s office were transferred by the City of Hartford to The Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut beginning in 1979. The entire collection was transferred to the Hartford History Center in the Hartford Public Library in April 2010.

Extent

342 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Voter Registration Records document voting in Hartford from the 1840s onward and include important genealogical information as well as reflecting changing demographics in the city.

Arrangement

Records are arranged in two series, both chronologically (Series I) and alphabetically (Series II).

Physical Location

HHC Closed Stacks, Ranges 22-24

Acquisition Information

The Hartford Voter Registration Records were transferred from the Town Clerk's Office to the Historical Manuscripts and Archives division (now Archives and Special Collections) as part of the Peoples of Connecticut Ethnic Heritage Project in August 1979. Hartford Voter Registration cards from 1981, 1982, and 1983 were transferred to Historical Manuscripts and Archives in January, 1989; cards from 1984 were transferred in June, 1990. The entire collection was transferred to the Hartford History Center in the Hartford Public Library in April 2010.