Organizing the Vote in Lancaster

Abstract

After 1832, the register defined the electorate in a constituency. The official list was produced at an annual revision when there was an opportunity to add or object to new electors. The process was supervised by a revising barrister but ‘the election agents of the parties soon learned to exploit the complexities of the Act. Despite the efforts of revising barristers, party machinations kept many bona fide electors off the register, and some dead men on it’ (Brock, 1973, p. 326).¹