What are electoral rolls?
Commonwealth electoral rolls are an alphabetical listing of all persons eligible to vote in Commonwealth elections and referenda, arranged by electoral divisions. They have been produced since 1908.
Electoral rolls held in Perth
The National Archives' Perth Office holds sets of Commonwealth electoral rolls for electors residing within Western Australian boundaries for the period 1914 to 1996. These consist of printed and official versions of the rolls.
Printed rolls
Printed rolls are produced for each election. They may also be produced between elections, usually at the request of a particular electoral division.
Bound printed electoral rolls are held for the period 1914 to 1989. They contain the name, address, occupation (omitted after 1983) and gender of each elector. Rolls from 1914 to 1983 are arranged into divisions with a further breakdown into sub-divisions. Maps and descriptions of the boundaries of sub-divisions are usually included. Within sub-divisions the electors are listed alphabetically by family name. From 1984 to 1989 rolls are alphabetically listed for the complete division only.
From 1990 printed rolls have been produced in a single microfiche format which lists electors alphabetically by name for the entire State rather than in separate electoral divisions.
Official rolls
Official rolls are copies of electoral rolls containing annotations by the Australian Electoral Commission which detail changes to the entry for an elector. They also record the elector's death or departure from or arrival in a division. These rolls are then used to produce the next printed copy of the electoral roll. Official rolls are available for public access once they enter the open access period and provided they do not contain notations about electors which are of a personally sensitive nature (these could include changes of name of electors or some reasons for the exclusion of electors from the roll). The Perth Office holds official electoral rolls from 1929 to 1996. Since 1970 official rolls have been produced as computer printouts.
The tables below list the printed and official electorate rolls for Western Australia, held in the Perth Office.
Electoral rolls held in Perth
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series number |
|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth electoral rolls for Western Australia, chronological order within division | 1914– | K833 |
| Microfiche copies of printed electoral rolls for Western Australia, alphabetical order | 1990– | K901 |
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series number |
|---|---|---|
| Roll of electors, arranged alphabetically by Federal electorate – includes Canning, Curtin, Forrest, Fremantle, Kalgoorlie, Moore, Perth, Stirling, Swan and Tangney | 1903– | PP654/1 |
| Electoral rolls for Western Australia (official), chronological within division | 1929– | K52 |
| Official rolls of the electoral divisions of Curtin, Fremantle, Moore, Perth, Stirling and Swan | 1954–59 | PP153/1 |
| Official electoral working rolls | 1959–64 | PP339/1 |
| Official rolls of division of Kalgoorlie, subdivision of Geraldton | 1961–63 | PP397/1 |
| Official electoral rolls for Western Australia divisions of Kalgoorlie, Canning and Forrest | 1965–66 | PP385/1 |
| Official electoral rolls for the state of Western Australia | 1967–73 | PP531/1 |
| Electoral rolls for Western Australia | 1974–80 | PP834/1 |