Texas Secretary of State, Elections Division:

An Inventory of Republic of Texas Election Returns at the Texas State Archives, 1835-1845

Agency History

The Texas Secretary of State is a constitutional officer of the executive branch of state government, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate for a term concurrent with the governor's (a two-year term at first, a four-year term since 1974). The office was first created by the Constitution of the Republic of Texas in 1836, and has been continued by each succeeding Constitution.

The Secretary of State has a wide variety of duties and responsibilities, including the following: authenticating the publication of all laws passed by the state legislature; approving comptroller's accounts against the state prior to payment; maintaining a register of all official acts and proceedings of the governor, and all appointments to state boards and commissions; interpreting and enforcing the Texas Election Code, as the state's chief election officer; keeping the Seal of the State of Texas; maintaining many business-related filings, including corporation and Uniform Commercial Code filings.

The office of the Secretary of State is divided into five divisions: Executive, Elections, Statutory Filings, Administrative Services, and Information Services.

The Elections Division assists the Secretary of State in interpreting and applying the Election Code and other election laws. The Secretary of State, as Chief Election Officer of the State, has specific functions under the Election Code, which include receiving, examining, and filing the official certified returns of all general elections, special elections for members of the legislature, and constitutional amendment elections.

The only duty of the Secretary of State specified by the Constitution of 1836 was to receive "returns of all elections for officers who are to be commissioned by the President" (General Provisions, Section 2). Since 1835, returns of general and special elections for district, national (for the Republic), statewide, and federal offices have usually been certified to the Secretary of State by county judges. For county and precinct offices (county judge, county clerk, district clerk, county attorney, county treasurer, county surveyor, sheriff, county tax collector, county tax assessor, county superintendent of public instruction, inspector of hides and animals, public weigher, justices of the peace, constables, county commissioners), the county judge filed a certificate of election and qualification with the Secretary of State. The 1st Legislature approved a law on May 11, 1846 requiring the Secretary of State to furnish forms to county election officials for election returns, and to receive certified election returns from these officials for members of the legislature.

Return to the Table of Contents

Scope and Contents of the Records

These records include election returns, voter lists, poll lists, resignations, notifications of death, appointments to fill vacancies, and associated correspondence. They comprise the county-by-county returns of general, special, and contested elections for Republic of Texas offices, district offices, and county and occasionally municipal offices, plus elections for constitutional and other issues (e.g. annexation of Texas into the United States). Dates covered are 1835-1845. Since 1835, returns of general and special elections for district, statewide, and federal offices were usually certified to the Secretary of State by county judges. For county and precinct offices, the county judge filed a certificate of election and qualification with the Secretary of State. These certificates of election are not precisely returns, for they do not indicate the number of votes for each candidate, or even the names of the losing candidates; the information they do give includes name of person elected, office, date of qualification, and post office address.

Additional information contained in these records varies according to the time period. During the Republic, voter lists were sometimes filed (in a number of instances these indicated how citizens voted); other returns show votes cast for all candidates; sometimes only the winner is reported. Poll lists are scattered throughout, especially in cases of contested elections. Contested election returns, and related records, are found for six counties between 1838 and 1843. Resignations, notifications of death, and appointments to fill vacancies may be found, more frequently in later years. Returns for district offices are found in the county of the returning judge. For the Republic era, cross-references are made in the district's other counties. Returns for unorganized counties are usually filed with those of the returning judge. Election returns were created as the official record of election results, in order to determine the winner in each race.

To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.

Note concerning known problems: These records are unprocessed. Misfilings by date and/or by county have been found throughout the records. Researchers are cautioned to check, at the very least, the years on either side of the year being researched. Also, transfer sheets for oversized material may be incorrect.

The original finding aid for election returns has been split into two separate finding aids due to electronic file size limitations imposed by TARO. Click here for State of Texas election returns (county-by-county), 1846-1984. If you are reading this in paper, that finding aid is found at a separate divider within the binder.

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Republic of Texas agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. Government records also include materials received by, not created by, government agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).

Technical Requirements

None.

Return to the Table of Contents

Return to the Table of Contents

Related Material

Return to the Table of Contents

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Republic of Texas election returns, Elections Division, Texas Secretary of State. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession number: 1932/002

These records were transferred to the Texas State Archives by the Texas Secretary of State on September 28, 1932.

Processing Information

Archives staff, March 1974, April 1974, June 1983

Paul Beck, October 1993

Return to the Table of Contents

Detailed Description of the Records