1840 Election Documents, Harrison County, Indiana

Description:	A collection of official election documents from Harrison County, Indiana, in 1840. The elections took place in each of the countys existing eight townships of the period - Blue River, Boone, Franklin, Harrison, Heth, Morgan, Posey, and Washington. Elections occurred across the county in April, August, and November of 1840. In April, voters selected local constables, overseers of the poor, fence viewers, road district supervisors, and election inspectors. In August, state and county positions were on the ballot and included governor, lieutenant governor, state representatives, and county recorder, sheriff, and school commissioner. The year 1840 was also a presidential election year, and in November, Harrison county residents voted for electors to elect a president and vice-president of the United States. Presidential candidates were William Henry Harrison and Martin Van Buren. Additional local elections, typically for a justice of the peace, also occurred at various times during the year in some of the townships. For each election, each township typically provides: 1) a list of the names of people who voted in the election; 2) a tally that lists each candidate with accompanying tally marks that note the number of votes the candidate received; and 3) a return statement signed by local election officials that reiterates and confirms the total votes each candidate received. These three records often appear in separate documents, but could be combined on a single paper or require several sheets, depending on local voter turnout. There are also two documents, one from August 1840 and one from November 1840, with total county results. These documents contain a table that lists totals for each candidate from every township.
Origin:	1840
Source:	http://cdm17251.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p17251coll27/id/650
Collection:	Harrison County Election Documents, 1833-1864
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Copyright:	This image may be printed or downloaded by individuals, schools or libraries for study, research or classroom teaching without permission. For other uses contact: genealogy@hcpl.lib.in.us
Geography:	Harrison County, Indiana
Subjects:	elections voting voter turnout local elections governors legislators Indiana—politics and government constitutions county government sheriffs justices of the peace presidential elections presidents—United States—Election--1840 Elections—United States--history

Further information on this record can be found at its source.