The Online Catalog allows searching and browsing of information about the Florida State Archives’ holdings of over 48,000 cubic feet of state and local government records and historical manuscripts. The catalog provides descriptions of over 3,400 collections and lists the contents of containers and folders in many of those collections. For assistance with accessing and using State Archives collections, call our Reference Staff at 850.245.6719 or email us at archives@dos.myflorida.com.
Subdivided into (1) Unidentified records; (2) County election returns, arranged alphabetically by county, then chronologically (undated at beginning of each county); (3) Oversized documents (sheets marked with location inserted in the original county returns); and (4) Recapitulations, arranged chronologically, then alphabetically by office.
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Biographical/Historical:
The post of Secretary of State was created in the 1838 Constitution (Article III, Section 14, 1838 Constitution; Article IV, Section 21, 1885 Constitution; Article IV, Section 4(b), 1968 Constitution; Ch. 15 FS). The Secretary of State was the successor to the Secretary of the Territory. The Office of Secretary of State was created in 1845 to maintain the state's public records. In 1969 (Ch. 69-106, Laws), the Office of Secretary of State became part of the Dept. of State.
Summary:
This series contains the surviving Florida territorial and state election records, 1824-1926, which were sent to Tallahassee to be recorded by the Secretary of State. It includes the official election returns, also known as Certificates of Results, for various county offices; state officials, the Governor, and House and Senate members; United States Congress representatives; presidential electors; and state constitution conventions delegates.
In addition, the series includes recapitulations, 1830-1920, for some specific elections, such as the Legislative Council or the United States Congress, or for all elections held within the state. There are recapitulations for the selection of members to the Confederate States Congress; of electors for the President of the Confederate States of America in 1861; and of delegates to the Constitutional Conventions.
Also included are a variety of supporting records, such as amnesty oaths, poll books, lists of registered voters, notices of elections, commissions, instructions to election inspectors, blank oaths for attesting citizenship, materials relating to contested elections, and original ballots. Of particular interest to genealogists are the poll lists, which prove residence in a particular county.
There are also election records for the absentee ballots used by Florida soldiers serving outside the state during the Civil War. Some of the absentee returns are identified by senatorial districts, and are located after the county election records.
Prior to 1865, the election returns commonly included: county and precinct; date; election inspectors; eligible voters who voted; and total votes for each candidate. Most of the early (pre-Civil War) records are handwritten. The later printed canvassing forms do not contain the detail of the earlier records.
Finding Aids:
Box and folder listings available. 0
Additional Physical Form:
Scans of microfilm produced by FamilySearch available at the Archives.
Microfilm of records prior to 1860, produced by Genealogical Society of Utah.
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Florida. Constitutional Convention (1838) Florida. Constitutional Convention (1865) Florida. Constitutional Convention (1868) Florida. Constitutional Convention (1885) United States. Congress. --Senate. United States. Congress. --House. Confederate States of America. Florida. Legislature. --House of Representatives. --Committee on Rules and Calendar. Florida. Legislature. --Senate. Florida. Territorial Legislative Council. Secretary of the Territory.
Elections Florida Governors Florida Voter registration Florida
Territorial records. aat Election returns. aat Voters' lists. aat
Florida Voting registers
for detailed listing.