Series 396

DESCRIPTION: The Utah Commission was established in 1882 under the federal Edmunds Act to monitor elections in territorial Utah. The members received and canvassed returns and appointed election officials, including a Board of Canvassers.

These volumes contain certified election return abstracts from around the territory for each year from 1891 through 1895. The returns are certified by members of the Utah Commission or by the Board of Canvassers. The volumes contain returns for elections from the municipal level to territory or statewide positions, but not all levels are present in each year.

The 1891 volume contains returns from each district for members of the Legislative Council and returns for members of the territorial House of Representatives. It also contains general election returns of county and precinct officers. The 1892 volume contains returns for delegates to Congress, territorial, and county officers plus those for precinct officers. Returns for members of the Legislative Council and those for members of the territorial House of Representatives comprise the 1893 volume. The 1894 volume contains general election returns for county and precinct officers and returns of a special election to choose delegates to a constitutional convention. The 1895 volume contains returns for the election of state and district offices plus a referendum on the adoption of a state constitution; it also contains returns of the general election of county and municipal officers.

Utah became a state in 1896, and the Utah Commission was abolished. Elections continued to be conducted under the auspices of the Secretary of State, as they had been under the Secretary of the Territory prior to the establishment of the Commission.

ARRANGEMENT: Volumes are arranged chronologically by year. Entries are by level of office and/or alphanumerically by county or district.

RELATED RECORDS: Series 352, contains COMMISSION REGISTERS for individuals elected during this period. The ELECTION PAPERS, series 364, contain returns and related election papers from this period. Election returns are also summarized in the MINUTE BOOKS, series 1126, and in other of the commission's records.

CUSTODY HISTORY: The papers of the Utah Commission were turned over to the Secretary of State in 1896, including 5 volumes of abstracts of returns covering 1891-1895. They were transferred to the Utah State Archives 1957.

PROCESSING NOTE: Archival processing completed by A.C. Cone in 1989. Volumes are oversized.

CONTAINER LIST