Suffrage and the Secret Ballot in Eighteenth-Century London Parishes

IF 0.8 1区 历史学 Q1 HISTORY Historical Journal Pub Date : 2023-09-29 DOI:10.1017/s0018246x2300047x
Jonah Miller
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Abstract

Abstract This article argues that pre-nineteenth-century elections at a sub-national level have an important place in the history of ‘modern’ voting practices. It does this through a discussion of unusually well-documented election disputes in eighteenth-century London parishes. Previously neglected records of litigation in the ecclesiastical courts reveal that parish elections in this period generated arguments which did not take place at a parliamentary level until the following century: arguments over votes for women, votes for religious minorities, and the secret ballot. Customary electoral rules came under increasing pressure in the early eighteenth century as London’s population grew and changed in character. In some parishes, this produced a narrowing of the traditional ratepayer franchise, allowing only male Anglican ratepayers a vote in parish elections. Elsewhere, groups or individual residents successfully pushed for a more inclusive franchise which allowed ratepaying women, Dissenters, and Jews a voice in parochial politics. Similarly mixed practices emerged with regard to electoral procedure: residents who feared the overbearing influence of their neighbours pressed for a secret ballot, while others insisted on the merits of an open poll. These cases illustrate the importance of small-scale local institutions as key sites of innovation in the history of electoral reform.
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18世纪伦敦教区的选举权和无记名投票
摘要本文认为,19世纪前的地方选举在“现代”投票实践的历史上占有重要地位。本书通过对18世纪伦敦教区选举纠纷的讨论来实现这一点。之前被忽视的教会法庭诉讼记录显示,这一时期的教区选举产生的争论直到下个世纪才出现在议会层面:关于妇女投票权,宗教少数群体投票权和无记名投票的争论。18世纪初,随着伦敦人口的增长和性格的变化,传统的选举规则面临越来越大的压力。在一些教区,这缩小了传统的纳税人专营权,只允许男性圣公会纳税人在教区选举中投票。在其他地方,团体或个人居民成功地推动了更具包容性的特许经营权,使纳税妇女,持不同政见者和犹太人能够在教区政治中发表意见。在选举程序方面也出现了同样混杂的做法:担心邻居的专横影响的居民要求进行无记名投票,而另一些人则坚持公开投票的优点。这些案例说明了小规模地方机构作为选举改革历史上创新的关键场所的重要性。
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来源期刊
Historical Journal
Historical Journal Multiple-
CiteScore
1.30
自引率
12.50%
发文量
39
期刊介绍: The Historical Journal continues to publish papers on all aspects of British, European, and world history since the fifteenth century. The best contemporary scholarship is represented. Contributions come from all parts of the world. The journal aims to publish some thirty-five articles and communications each year and to review recent historical literature, mainly in the form of historiographical reviews and review articles. The journal provides a forum for younger scholars making a distinguished debut as well as publishing the work of historians of established reputation.
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