Collection context
Summary
Background
- Scope and content:
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The Placer County Great Registers contain the name of eligible voter, age, country of nativity, local residence, when and where naturalized and date registered. The early records encompass the whole county, later volumes are organized by precincts. Many contain extended information detailing; occupation, color of hair and eyes and complexion, the listing of marks or scars and their location, any physical disability, whether the registrant could read the U. S. Constitution in English, whether he could write his name and whether he could physically cast a ballot. Eligible voters were restricted to males over the age of 21 until women were given the right to vote in California in 1911.
- Biographical / historical:
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The practice of registering voters before elections was established to prevent voter fraud. Placer County’s early history of elections are filled with tales of more votes being cast than there were citizens eligible to vote. Ballot boxes were often nailed to a tree and residents could vote any number of times. The Great Registers were an attempt to regulate the eligible voters in the County.
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- 1871 – 1952 non -inclusive
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
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The Collection is open for research by appointment. Appointment times are available on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays from 9-3.
- Preferred citation:
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Great Registers of Placer County. Placer County Archives
- Location of this collection:
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101 Maple StreetAuburn, CA 95603, US
- Contact:
- (530) 889-7789