nycvote 7254 980424 New York City Voter Registration Records +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ New York City Voter Registration Records +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ A JewishGen InfoFile By Michael J. Meshenberg Voter registration records in New York City offer information of important genealogical value. They are an especially valuable alternative source for finding the court of naturalization when the person cannot be located in a court index or in the 1925 New York State Census. Because they include previous addresses, creative use of these documents can also provide valuable data to help trace movements. What Records are Available New York City required annual voter registration until 1957. Most of the original registration forms still are available, although some early ones have been lost. The archived forms are copies of the actual voter applications. As shown below, registration forms generally include: name of registrant, country or state of birth, race, age, street address, marital status, length of residence in state/county/Assembly District and Election District, whether native born or naturalized, country of nativity, date of naturalization, court where naturalization occurred, and address where last voted. Finding Tips * Forms evidently are not needed if requesting records from the Municipal Archives or for Manhattan or the Bronx (but Kings County [Brooklyn] can provide records for all boroughs). The cost is $3.00 for searching one year for one address. Provide full name at registration, year(s) to be searched, address where residing at the time of registration, date of birth or age, and your name and address. * To verify that a person actually registered, Lists of Enrolled Voters are available at the Municipal Reference and Research Center (31 Chambers Street, Room 112, New York, NY 10007, (212) 566-4284) and the New York Public Library, Microforms Division. The latter is much more easily accessible. * To use the List of Enrolled Voters, you must know the Assembly District (AD) and the Election District (ED); the New York Public Library, Map Division has AD/ED maps for New York City for most years (presidential election years are best). Maps also are available at the Municipal Reference and Research Center, or at the Board of Elections office of the appropriate boroughs. * You can save the trouble of looking at the Lists of Enrolled Voters, a tedious and time-consuming process, by requesting the voter registration record from the Municipal Archives or the borough Board of Elections, and having the clerks do the searches. They'll inform you if the search was unsuccessful, and the cost is only $3.00. * If your objective is to obtain naturalization information, your best bet is to search in presidential election years such as 1920 or 1932. * After 1957, voters re-registered only when they changed addresses. * In sending a request to a Borough Elections office, send a blank ledger book abstract form (see below) and ask that it be completed and returned to be sure you get full information. There likely is similar data available from other cities' elections offices. How to Request NYC Voter Records Manhattan: Board of Elections, Manhattan Borough Office, 200 Varick Street, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10014, (212) 886-3800. Manhattan voter records are available from 1916-1920 (gaps) and 1923 to the present. Bronx: Board of Elections, Bronx Borough Office, 1780 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10457, (212) 299-9017. Records are available from 1897 to the present. Brooklyn: Board of Elections, Brooklyn Borough Office, 345 Adams Street, 4th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201, (718) 330-2250. Brooklyn voter records are available from 1890 to the present. Queens: Board of Elections, Queens Borough Office, 42-16 West Street, 2nd Floor, Long Island City, NY 11101, (718) 392-8989. Queens borough records are available from 1949 to the present. Richmond (Staten Island): Board of Elections, Staten Island Borough Office, 1 Edgewater Plaza, 4th Floor, Staten Island, NY 10305, (718) 876-0079. Staten Island borough records are available from 1957 to the present. The New Municipal Archives has: New York County: records of naturalized voters, 1872-1878 and registers of voters, 1872-1922 (gaps). Queens County: registers of voters, 1898-1948 Richmond County: registers of voters 1898-1956 Contact: New York City, Department of Records and Information Services, Municipal Archives, 31 Chambers St., New York, NY 10007 (212) 566-5292. No information is available on search fees. Information Needed to Locate the Records The actual registration ledgers cannot be searched in person. The List of Enrolled Voters can be checked to determine if a person is registered in a given year. Year and address must be provided. Additional Help Estelle Guzik, Genealogical Resources in the New York Metropolitan Area (New York: Jewish Genealogical Society, 1989), pp. 8-9, 143-4; 158-9; 191-2; 211. This is a typical page from New York City Board of Elections Voter Registration Ledger Book 1. Registration no. 2. No. on enrolled blank 3. Party of enrolled voter 4. Residence no. 5. Name of street or avenue 6. No. umber of room or floor occupied by voter 7. Surname 8. Christian name 9. No. on public counter machine No.1 }General 10. No. on public counter machine No.2 } 11. No. on public counter machine No.1 }Special 12. No. on public counter machine No.2 } 13. No. on ballot delivered to voter }Fall primary 14. No. on ballot voted } 15. Age 16. Married, single, or widowed 17. In state (no. of years) 18. In county (no. of months) 19. In ED (no. of days) 20. Country of nativity 21. Date and court of naturalization; if citizen by marriage, name of person to whom married 22. Name of householder, tenant, of apt. lessee with whom reside 23. Last voted at: state city street address 24. Last voted in (year) 25. Business connection 26. Location of business 27. Signature on registration day 28. Signature on election day 29. Remarks (The information in this InfoFile is excerpted from: Michael J. Meshenberg, "Documents of Our Ancestors" (Teaneck, NJ: Avotaynu, Inc., 1996). The book includes reproducible copies of many other forms and information on how to obtain them.) --------- [24April998] Provider: Copyright 1998 JewishGen Inc. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+