Articles

The Mystery of Ohio's Missing Presidential Election Returns, 1804–1848

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Abstract

Many of the original voting records of early Ohio elections survive—but not those for presidential elections before 1852. Several copies of the election returns for all the various offices were made during the reporting process, but only those retained by county officials have survived the ravages of fire and neglect. The lack of presidential records in the county archives can be explained only by studying the election law in force at the time, which has had the unintended effect of making the careful identification and cataloging of the few extant township returns especially important for historians of Ohio elections.

How to Cite:

Ratcliffe, D., (1992) “The Mystery of Ohio's Missing Presidential Election Returns, 1804–1848”, Archival Issues 17(2), 137–144.