Finding aid of the Registrar of Voters Records

Trista Raezer, Michael Merolla, and Shoshana Francis
Santa Clara County Archives
1875 Senter Road
San Jose, CA 95112-2527
Phone: (408) 755-7895
Fax: (408) 755-7897
URL: http://archives.sccgov.org
Email: Archives@ceo.sccgov.org
© 2010
Santa Clara County. All rights reserved.

Finding aid of the Registrar of Voters Records

Collection number: 2006-017, 2010-010

Santa Clara County Archives

San Jose, California
Processed by:
Trista Raezer, Michael Griffith, Michael Merolla, and Shoshana Francis.
Date Completed:
2010
Encoded by:
Trista Raezer
© 2010 Santa Clara County. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Registrar of Voters records
Dates: 1916-2010
Collection number: 2006-017, 2010-010
Creator: Registrar of Voters
Collection Size: 195 archival boxes
Repository: Santa Clara County Archives.
San Jose, CA 95112-2527
Abstract: The Registrar of Voters Records includes documents pertaining to state and national, municipal and county, and school district elections from 1916 to 2010. The collection also includes complete statements of votes, administrative records and California state laws and codes pertaining to voting.
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult Archives staff.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog and Vietnamese.

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

The Archives can claim physical ownership only for some collections. Users are responsible for securing permission of the copyright holder for publication or quotation.

Preferred Citation

Registrar of Voters records, 2006-017 and 2010-010, Santa Clara County Archives.

Acquisition Information

The records were transferred to the Archives by the Registrar of Voters in 2006 and 2010.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Trista Raezer working under NHPRC grant RA-10047-07, the Santa Clara County Archives Project. A fuller account of the grant project is available at the Archives website.

Administrative History

The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters is a government agency whose main purpose is to ensure that federal, state, and local elections are conducted in a timely and organized manner. The highest levels of professionalism, accountability, and integrity are maintained to ensure public confidence in the electoral process. The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters is responsible for providing voting materials to all eligible individuals in the following languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Tagalog.

Scope and Content of Collection

The collection encompasses records of state and national, municipal and county, and school district elections in Santa Clara County from 1916 to 2010. It also includes administrative records of the Registrar of Voters and California State laws and codes.
For additional information on the scope and content of the collection, see the descriptions for the major subdivisions.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in six series: state and national elections, municipal and county elections, school district elections, administrative records, California state laws and codes, and statements of all votes cast. Each series follows a chronological order.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Elections--California--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Elections, Nonpartisan
Local Elections
Municipal Elections
Santa Clara County (Calif.)
Santa Clara County (Calif.) History
School Elections California
Voting Registrars


Boxes: 1-141

Series: I State and National Elections, 1916-2010

Physical Description: 141 boxes

Series Scope and Content

This series contains documents relating to state and national elections held in Santa Clara County. The files from the 1930s and 1940s are the most complete, incorporating sample ballots, original drafts of newspaper notices accompanied by the newspaper clippings, order and proofs for the printing of ballots, lists of voting precincts, polling places, and elections officers, correspondence and receipts from supply vendors and printers, correspondence with the Office of the California Secretary of State, statements of registration certifying the number of voters by party who are registered in the county, absentee voter tallies, and certified lists of candidates for office. After the 1940s, the materials become less complete, consisting mostly of election materials distributed to voters. These include notices of elections, polling place notices and sample ballots, full texts of proposed ballot measures, arguments for and against ballot measures, and candidates' statements of qualifications. When local elections were consolidated with state and national elections, documents for the local election are included with records of the state and national election. Not every election year is represented in the series.

Arrangement

This series is arranged chronologically.
Box: 1

Primary and General Elections, 1916-1938

Physical Description: 1 box
Boxes: 2-3

State Pamphlets, 1932-1979

Physical Description: 2 boxes
Boxes: 4-6

Primary, General and Consolidated Elections, 1938-1968

Physical Description: 3 boxes
Box: 7

Primary and General Elections, 1970

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 8

Primary, General and Conslidated Elections, 1972-1974

Physical Description: 1 box
Boxes: 9-11

Primary, General and Special Elections, 1974-1979

Physical Description: 3 boxes
Box: 12

State Pamphlets, 1980-1994

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 13

Consolidated Primary Election, 1980

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 14

Primary, General and Special Elections, 1980-1982

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 15

Primary Election, 1982

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 16

Election History, 1982

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 17

Primary and General Election, 1984

Physical Description: 1 box
Boxes: 18-19

Primary Election, 1984

Physical Description: 2 boxes
Box: 20

Primary and General Elections, 1984-1986

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 21

State Pamphlets, June 3, 1986

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 22

Primary and General Elections, 1986

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 23

Primary, General and Consolidated Elections, 1986-1988

Physical Description: 1 box
Boxes: 24-25

Primary and General Elections, 1988-1990

Physical Description: 2 boxes
Box: 26

Primary Elections, 1990

Physical Description: 1 box
Boxes: 27-31

Primary and General Elections, 1990-1994

Physical Description: 5 boxes
Boxes: 32-37

Primary Election, June 7, 1994

Physical Description: 7 boxes
Box: 38

General Election, 1994

Physical Description: 1 box
Boxes: 39-43

Primary Election, March 26, 1996

Physical Description: 5 boxes
Boxes: 44-48

General Election, November 5, 1996

Physical Description: 5 boxes
Boxes: 49-51

State Pamphlets, 1996-2002

Physical Description: 3 boxes
Box: 52

Primary Election, June 2, 1998

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 53

Gubernatorial Primary Election, June 2, 1998

Physical Description: 1 box
Boxes: 54-56

General Election, November 3, 1998

Physical Description: 3 boxes
Boxes: 57-59

Primary Election, March 7, 2000

Physical Description: 3 boxes
Boxes: 60-63

General Election, November 7, 2000

Physical Description: 4 boxes
Box: 64

Consolidated Election, November 6, 2001

Physical Description: 1 box
Boxes: 65-82

Primary Election, March 5, 2002

Physical Description: 18 boxes
Boxes: 83-88

General Election, November 5, 2002

Physical Description: 5 boxes
Boxes: 86-106

Primary Election, March 2, 2004

Physical Description: 21 boxes
Boxes: 107-114

General Election, November 2, 2004

Physical Description: 8 boxes
Boxes: 115-127

Primary Election, June 6, 2006

Physical Description: 13 boxes
Boxes: 128-130

Primary and General Election, February 5, 2008, June 3, 2008, and November 4, 2008

Physical Description: 3 boxes
Boxes: 130-141

Primary and General Election, June 8, 2010 and November 2, 2010

Physical Description: 15 boxes
Boxes: 1-14

Series: II County and Municipal Elections, 1950-2009

Physical Description: 14 boxes

Series Scope and Content

This series contains materials distributed to voters for county and municipal elections. The file for each election contains at least one of the following: sample ballots, election notice and polling-place notice, arguments for and against ballot measures, full text of ballot measures, and candidates' statements of qualifications. Not every election year is represented.

Arrangement

This series is arranged chronologically.
Box: 1

Special, District, County, and Municipal Elections, 1924-1969

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 2

Water Conservation District, 1925-1957

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 3

Miscellaneous, 1939-1977

Physical Description: 1 box
Boxes: 4-5

Election Records, 1968-1980

Physical Description: 2 boxes
Box: 6

Special, Municipal and District Elections, 1970-1978

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 7

County and Local Elections, 1972

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 8

Election Records, 1975-1978

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 9

Municipal and Consolidated Elections, 1978-1991

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 10

County and Local Elections, 1990

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 11

Consolidated Election, November 5, 1991

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 12

Spanish Information, November 1992

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 13

Municipal and Consolidated Elections, 1992

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 14

Municipal and Consolidated Elections, 2007 and 2009

Physical Description: 1 box
Boxes: 1/5

Series: III School District Elections, 1924-1991

Physical Description: 5 boxes

Series Scope and Content

This series contains materials distributed to voters in school district elections, including governing board elections, bond elections, tax increase elections, annexation elections, and unification elections. The file for each election contains at least one of the following: election notice and sample ballots, arguments for and against measures, and candidates' statements of qualification.

Arrangement

This series is arranged chronologically.
Boxes: 1-5

School District Elections, 1924-1999

Physical Description: 5 boxes
Boxes: 1-6

Series: IV Administrative Records, 1943-1991

Physical Description: 6 boxes

Series Scope and Content

This series contains materials used internally by the Registrar of Voters Office. These materials document the daily functions of the office, and include budgets, reports, and purchasing records.

Arrangement

This series is arranged chronologically.
Box: 1

Budgets, 1943-1976

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 2

Legal Purchasing and County Charter 1948-1973

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 3

System Reports, 1960s-1980s

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 4

Reports, 1960s

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 5

Reports of Registration, 1962-1986

Physical Description: 1 box
Boxes: 6-7

Miscellaneous Files, 1967-1991

Physical Description: 2 boxes
Box: 8

Election Records, Manuals, Code Books, 1980-1998

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 9

Records, 1989-1992

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 10

Election Manual, Code Books, Election Records, 1990-1999

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 11

News, BOS Transmittal and Legislature, 1991-1994

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 12

Adminstrative Records, 1991-1995

Physical Description: 1 box
Boxes: 1-7

Series: V California State Laws and Codes,

Physical Description: 7 boxes

Series Scope and Content

This series contains volumes of California state election laws and codes

Arrangement

This series is arranged chronologically.
Boxes: 1-7

Annotated California Codes,

Physical Description: 7 boxes
Box: 8

California Election Laws,

Physical Description: 1 box
Box: 9

Election California Codes,

Physical Description: 1 box
Boxes: 1-13

Series: VI Statements of all Votes Cast

Physical Description: 13 boxes

Series Scope and Content

This series contains the statements of the votes cast.

Arrangement

This series is arranged chronologically.
Boxes: 1-13

Statements of All Votes Cast

Physical Description: 13 boxes