The German Electoral System

Peter James

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351772440
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politik & Internationale Beziehungen
• Subtopic: Politische Kampagnen & Wahlen

This title was first published in 2003. This precise and well-structured book focuses on the mechanics (its evolution and the debates it generates) of the German electoral system. Briefly outlining the past German electoral systems and the influence they exerted on the political systems of the time, it differs from existing literature by being the first volume in the English language which gives in-depth treatment to local and regional electoral systems in Germany, as well as the federal system. Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of German electoral systems and their role and contribution within the party and political systems, it is particularly relevant at a time when other European countries' electoral systems are under review. Students and academics concerned with German politics in particular and German or European studies more generally, will find this book valuable.

Chapter 1
The Historical Dimension

The current German electoral system has of course been developed from, and influenced by, political experiences in Germany's past.

1.1 The Prussian Electoral System 1849-71 (1918)

Even before the diverse German states were first unified in 1871, an electoral system existed in the dominant state, Prussia, under Otto von Bismarck. This was significant, since Bismarck and Prussia not only played a leading role in the first unification of Germany but also continued to dominate the new German nation afterwards, in terms of population, area and power. Under the political system of the Second Empire from 1871 until 1918 the King of Prussia was also German Emperor. Although each of the German states had its own electoral system, Prussia was extremely influential and it retained approximately the same system up until 1918.

Voting rights in many areas of the German Second Empire were based on the principles of hard work, the ownership of property, and above all tax contributions. The Prussian electoral system, known in German as the Dreiklassenwahlrecht, divided the electorate into three classes. It was first introduced on 30 May 1849. The system was not universal (it excluded anyone who received alms), it was unequal and indirect.

Under the Prussian system, first of all Wahlmänner (representatives) were chosen; these were the people who actually cast the votes on behalf of the voters, along the lines of a type of electoral college in the USA. There was one of these representatives for every 250 people, and they were elected by an absolute majority, i.e. one candidate had to obtain over 50 per cent of the vote, and, if necessary, a second ballot was held with the two leading candidates from the first round standing again. The original voting wards in those days contained between 750 and 1,750 people; this meant that each ward was represented by between three and six representatives. Since Prussia was at that time by far the largest of the German states, it contained a large number of electoral wards. In 1908, for example, Prussia had 29,028 wards.¹

The Prussian electoral system divided the electorate into three classes according to the amount of taxes paid. The first class contained very few people. They were the richest, most powerful citizens who owned the most property and paid the highest taxes. The second class contained the middle group, who were reasonably well-off, owned some property and therefore paid taxes, but did not contribute as much as those in class one. The third class, or category, covered everyone else. Class three did offer voting rights to people who paid no taxes at all, but excluded those who received charity in the form of alms.

Although the three classes were of vastly differing sizes, each class elected one third of the deputies to the Prussian parliament. Each class also selected from within its own ranks - i.e. those eligible to vote - an equal number (either one or two) of representatives (Wahlmänner). They were responsible for actually casting the votes on behalf of the people they represented. By present-day standards, this was not a very democratic or 'fair' system, especially given the huge discrepancy in size between the three groups of voters.

The Prussian three-class electoral system divided its voters for the election of 1850 as follows: class one contained 4.7 per cent of the electorate, class two 12.6 per cent and class three 82.7 per cent. In other words 153,000 voters in class one had equal voting rights with 2,691,000 in class three, because each class elected one third of the deputies in the Prussian parliament. In 1903 the same system gave 239,000 electors in class one the same amount of influence as 6,006,000 in class three. So at the 1903 election the Conservatives, who gained 324,157 votes, obtained 143 deputies in the Prussian parliament, whilst the Social Democrats, with 314,149 votes, obtained no deputies. At the 1908 elections in Prussia the Conservatives were allocated 152 seats in parliament in return for their 354,785 votes, but the Social Democrats received only seven seats in return for 598,522 votes.²

For the 1908 election the territory of Prussia was divided into some 29,000 wards, each containing at least 750 people, who were then put into one of three classes according to taxes paid. Each class then cast its votes via its Wahlmänner (there were between three and six for each ward) for its constituency, of which there were 276. Each constituency elected not just one deputy but between one and three deputies. This was another means of manipulation.

Women did not have the right to vote, as they were neither taxpayers nor property owners. Under the Prussian electoral system four-fifths of the (male) electorate were able to elect only one third of the deputies at most elections. This was due to the fact that class three often contained around 80 per cent of the electorate. The Prussian electoral law of 1860 did not take population changes into account or revise electoral boundaries.

It is worth remembering that this electoral system affected most Germans up until 1918, owing to Prussia's dominant position even after unification in 1871. In 1910, for example, Prussia contained over 60 per cent of the population of the German Reich.³ Rokkan Stein commented that it would be difficult to devise an electoral measure more calculated to alienate the lower classes from the national political system than the one promulgated in Prussia in 1849.⁴

1.2 The Second Empire

In 1867 Bismarck, after the victory against Austria the previous year, established the North German Confederation and a parliament, the Reichstag, was elected on 1 July 1867. Bismarck granted universal suffrage, with direct and secret voting rights, to all males over twenty-five for that election. This arrangement was adopted for the German Second Empire. However, elections during the period 1871-1918 were held on working days and the introduction of a secret ballot did not necessarily mean, in practice, an end to intimidation, since the regulations continued to vary from one German state to another. Prussia, the largest and most powerful state, retained open voting in elections to its state assembly right up until 1918.

National elections to the Reichstag were based on single-member constituencies, with deputies having to gain an absolute majority of the vote in their constituencies. Second ballots were often required, if no candidate gained over 50 per cent in the first round of voting. In 1873 the national parliament (Reichstag) consisted of 397 deputies, one from each of the electoral districts in Germany. This meant that, on average, each parliamentary deputy represented about 100,000 people. Each German state had to have at least one representative. There were, however, wide variations in both the size of the individual German states and the type of electoral system used.

For example, the state of Württemberg in 1910 contained less than 4 per cent of the German population. It operated a secret and direct system of voting, with 69 deputies being elected via its constituencies and 23 via proportional representation. In the German state of Schaumburg-Lippe two deputies were appointed by the monarch, one was elected by the clergy, one by a group of professors, three by the cities and seven by the rural communities.⁵

In many states landowners and taxpayers were extremely privileged whilst in other states membership of religious denominations affected franchise. Despite the fact that each state had its own electoral system, the official position remained that the electoral law, laid down in the constitutions of the North German Federation on 12 January 1867 (provisional) and for the North German Parliament on 31 May 1869, was adopted in 1871 as the model for the Second Empire, valid until the end of the First World War. The 1:2 ratio of urban to rural life, which existed when the German Empire was founded, had been reversed by 1918. That had, however, not been reflected at all by any constituency boundary changes.

Both the North German Confederation and the Second Empire had an upper chamber (Bundesrat) consisting of delegates sent by the states - usually selected by the Prince (Fürst) or someone appointed by him - plus a lower chamber (Reichstag), elected by all male citizens over 25. Anyone entitled to vote was also entitled to stand for election. Excluded from the right to vote were those placed in care or in a state of bankruptcy, those who had lost their citizenship following a court sentence and anyone receiving alms. Each voter had one vote, recorded in secret, and the successful candidate was elected by an absolute majority. That meant that sometimes of course a second ballot was required and, in the event of a tie, lots were drawn. When a deputy left parliament a new election was held to find a replacement, along the lines of a present-day by-election in Great Britain. From 1871 to 1918 Germany was divided into 397 constituencies, each with an average population of around 100,000.

During the Second Empire Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) was not treated very fairly, partly due to the constituency boundaries being out of date. To give just one example of how the Social Democrats suffered, at the 1912 Reichstag election 7,706 votes were enough to elect a Conservative candidate in the constituency of Heiligenbeil/Pr.Eylau, yet in the constituency of Bochum 53,333 votes were not enough to give the Social Democrat candidate victory.⁶

Under the Prussian three-class system sometimes less than 10 per cent of the electorate voted, but participation gradually increased as time went on in the Second Empire. However the system favoured the Conservatives and the National Liberals, as well as the Centre Party (Zentrum) and even some minority groups. Despite voting rights being increased in general terms, the Social Democrats continued to be disadvantaged, because the considerable increase in their share of the vote was not reflected in a corresponding increase in parliamentary seats. Consequently they began to campaign for some form of proportional representation rather than a majority electoral system.

1.3 The Weimar Republic 1919-33 (1945)

On 30 November 1918 a decree was passed stating that elections to the German National Assembly, to be elected on 19 January 1918, would take place on the basis of proportional representation. This was partly because of the way in which the electoral system of the German Empire had completely ignored the rural/urban changes (Landflucht) when drawing up constituency boundaries, and it was of course also partly a response to the way in which the Prussian three-class ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Introduction
• 1 The Historical Dimension
• 2 The Current Federal Electoral System Emerges
• 3 Protest and Disaffection: The Electoral System is Put to the Test
• 4 Regional and Local Electoral Systems: Party Finance
• 5 The Developing Pattern of Federal Elections
• 6 The 2002 Federal Election - A Unique Event
• 7 Influence of the Electoral System on the Party System and Individual Parties
• 8 The Diversity of Electoral Politics in Practice
• 9 Conclusion
• Appendices
• Bibliography
• Index