Ireland, Londonderry (Derry) & Armagh, Absent Voters Lists 1918

These Absent Voters Lists, drawn from the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), were published in October 1918. Created during the First World War, they can help you picture an ancestor far from home, pairing a familiar home address with vital military details, particularly for servicemen and women. 

The Representation of the People Act transformed the electorate in 1918 and, with it, the lives recorded in these registers. Women aged 30 and over gained the vote for the first time, and special provisions ensured that those serving in the armed forces or merchant navy overseas could still be counted. It also extended voting rights to men aged 19 and 20 in military service. 

For the County and City of Derry/Londonderry, both printed Absent Voters Lists and three manuscript volumes titled “Record of Absent Voters” survive. The printed lists cover each of the three Derry/Londonderry constituencies City, North and South and are organised further by Polling District and Registration Unit, helping you narrow in on the exact place your family called home. 

In Derry/Londonderry City, the Polling Districts correspond to the city wards. Within each Registration Unit or Ward, voters are listed by street in towns or by townland, so you can trace an ancestor back to the very neighbourhood where their story began. 

Each of the three Derry/Londonderry constituencies also has a manuscript volume. Absent voters are usually arranged alphabetically by surname, then grouped by Registration Unit or Ward within each letter section, a valuable route in when you are searching for a single name among many (PRONI Reference LOND/5/1/7).