Absent Voters Lists - County Derry/Londonderry

The Representation of the People Act 1918 made special provision so that people absent due to War Service could vote. The Absent Voters List for County Derry/Londonderry has been digitised and indexed and contains c.4,500 names.

For the County and City of Derry/Londonderry, printed Lists of Absent Voters survive, along with three manuscript volumes titled 'Record of Absent Voters'.  There is a printed list for each of the three Derry/Londonderry constituencies (City, North and South), further divided by Polling District and Registration Unit. 

Derry/Londonderry City is divided into Polling Districts which equate to the city wards. Within each Registration Unit or Ward the voters are listed by Street (in towns) or townland. 

There is also a manuscript volume for each of the three Derry/Londonderry constituencies.  Absent voters are, for the most part, arranged alphabetically by surname, further grouped by Registration Unit or Ward within each letter listing (PRONI Reference LOND/5/1/7). 

It would appear that the manuscript alphabetised volumes were created after the printed lists, most likely to aid access when making updates in preparation for the 1919 register.  Due to the inclusion of updates, information about individuals may vary within the printed and manuscript lists, so it's recommended that you look at both when carrying out research.

To support your research, we have also created an index to the entries in these Absent Voters Lists. Each index entry provides (where available) the individual's: 

• Surname 

• Forename

• Polling District

• Registration Unit

• Address (street or townland)

• Constituency

• Page number of the entry

The digitised Lists include details of the voter's military unit rank and service number, if they were Naval or Military voters.