Missouri Voting Records

Online Resources

 * 1928-1956 at FamilySearch; index and images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1928-1956 Missouri, Jackson County Voter Registration Records, 1928-1956 at Ancestry - index & images($)

Voting Rights History

 * By 1856: Universal white male suffrage
 * 1870: The 15th Amendment is passed and prohibits restricting suffrage based on race
 * Early 1890s: Jim Crow Laws passed to revoke African-Americans right to vote
 * 1919: Women are given the right to vote
 * 1965: The Voting Rights Act passes; African-Americans are given back the right to vote

What Can be Found in the Records
In Missouri, voting registers were often arranged alphabetically by the names of citizens eligible to vote. For more information about how Voter Records can help your genealogical research see United States Voting Records. Voting records often contain:
 * Name
 * Birth place
 * Residence
 * Years living in city, county, state
 * Whether naturalized, date, court

How to Find Voter Records
Most voter records were kept on the county level (for New England states this should be town level). To see what FamilySearch has for your county (town) of research follow these steps:
 * Go to the FamilySearch Catalog and in the place field type in Missouri
 * Go to United States, Missouri
 * Once there, click on "Places within United States, Missouri"
 * Select the county that contains your town of interest
 * If FamilySearch has voter records for your county, they will be under "Voting Registers"