Six year old voter?

[Davedrave]

I’ve only just realised that on a 1930 electoral register my father was listed. The thing is, he was born in 1924! There were only three people in the household: my grandfather and his mother-in-law, and my father, who had the same Christian names as my grandfather. He is listed on the roll as “jnr”. Junior he certainly was, but what on earth was going on? (There was certainly no other relative of this name who it might be.)

[KGarrad]

So, your grandfather made a mistake on the original form?!

People even today make the same mistake.

[majm]

Several possibilities...

a) Jnr is a printers error and the J ought to be an S as in Snr
b) Jnr is correct as among your Grandfather's  ancestors (uncle, cousin, g/father, great uncle etc) is a chap who used to live at that address or at least in that area and after whom your Grandfather was named
c) Someone is mis-reading the roll and it actually reads 'Snr' as in Senior
d) Someone put your Grandfather's name forward and no official bothered to check his then age so they entered him officially on the roll
e) The Electoral Roll people simply made a mistake - was he listed at that address in the electoral rolls covering the years immediately before and after 1930.
f) I dunno ! 

JM

[Ray T]

By no means unusual. This sort of thing typically raises its head around election time when the press reports that a minor (or even the dog) has been sent a polling card. It depends upon the names who the main householder has endered on the electoral return but it doesn’t mean that the child (or the dog!) can exercise any right to vote.

[ThrelfallYorky]

But I'm sure my cat would use its vote, if it had one,  more thoughtfully than some people over 18!
TY

[Redroger]

So, your grandfather made a mistake on the original form?!

People even today make the same mistake.

They do indeed, sometimes though I think the mistake might have be deliberate given the alacrity with which Mum appears on TV along with the toddling voter,

[Maiden Stone]

But I'm sure my cat would use its vote, if it had one,  more thoughtfully than some people over 18!
TY

Perhaps the grandfather had a similar thought - that his 6 year-old son was as sensible as "flappers", single women aged 21 & over who had recently been enfranchised. 

[Redroger]

But I'm sure my cat would use its vote, if it had one,  more thoughtfully than some people over 18!
TY

Perhaps the grandfather had a similar thought - that his 6 year-old son was as sensible as "flappers", single women aged 21 & over who had recently been enfranchised. 

Given the dates involved I think this is probably right.When I first started political campaigning about 1960 albeit in a small rural town (Boston) it was still the case where a lot of women voters probably a majority had to ask their husband's permission to reply to the canvasser. Twenty years later at Doncaster the reverse was true,but only partially.I was agent for a candidate who was a feminist activist. I introduced to a regular supporter thinking there would be no problem there. His response "Who's doing the washing up?" It took a bottle of gin, and a phone call to her husband who was baby sitting to come and collect her since she had had too much to drive safely. She did have the ultimate satisfaction of winning the seat by 59 votes after 2 recounts!

[Andrew Tarr]

By no means unusual. This sort of thing typically raises its head around election time when the press reports that a minor (or even the dog) has been sent a polling card.

I believe this sort of thing (personation) used to be popular in Irish elections.  One motto - at least in northern Ireland - is Vote Early, Vote Often ....