Several months after gaining statehood in 1889, Washington legislators passed an “act to provide for and to regulate the registration of voters in cities.” This act required Washington State electors living in cities with populations over 250 to annually register to vote in that year’s elections. A required “Notice to Register” ran in newspapers for 10 days at the beginning of the new year advising Seattle residents to register in person at the city clerk’s office.

The voter’s registration book shown here was open for registrations from the start of the year until February 26, 1892, when the book was closed prior to the March 8 special election. After the March election, voter registration reopened and the names from this poll book were copied into a second poll book to be used for the November 8, 1892 general election. This general election was the first time residents of the newly formed State of Washington could cast their vote for president.

Many factors at the time made voting difficult for working class residents, non-English speaking citizens, and minorities. Not only did you have to register in-person each year, but poll taxes were levied on all men 21 to 50 years old. Qualified electors were required to have lived in the state for one year and be living in their precinct for at least 1 month prior to the election. The First Precinct of the First Ward of Seattle shown in this registry was the area south of Yesler Way and West of Second Street with many low-income residents. Many registrants in this area listed their occupations as laborer and their residences as hotels or boarding houses. As this information did not immediately qualify them as a valid elector, many registrations in this book have a note stating that the individual has “sworn to [their] residency.” In an effort to make registration more accessible, the clerk’s office extended their hours in the weeks before the poll book’s closure. Political parties also canvassed neighborhoods to encourage registration prior to the election deadlines.

This book was later used as a scrapbook; remains of pasted-in materials can still be seen.

Information contained in register:
Date of Register, Politics, Name, Check Line, Age, Occupation, Residence, Remarks

Caption information sources:
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: “Those Who Can Vote,” December 30, 1891, p. 5; “Notice of Registration,” January 5, 1892, p. 7; “Registration Books Open Evenings,” February 2, 1892, p. 5, “Preparing To Vote,” February 8, 1892, p. 8; “Be Sure You Are Registered,” October 15, 1892, p. 4; and “Club Organized and Registration Canvass Taken in Hand,” January 13, 1892, p. 5.
Caption information source: “Session Laws Enacted by the Washington Legislature at its Special Session Held September 3rd to 11th, Inclusive, 1890,” Washington State Legislature.
Caption information source: Map of first ward, first prescinct in 1891 at Seattle Municipal Archives; accessed at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seattle_ward_and_precinct_map,_1891.jpg