Decree of the king of Prussia “On the election of deputies of the second chamber” of May 30, 1849: the normative content and implementation practice

Introduction: an attempt is made to consider the normative regulation of the electoral relations that arose during the elections of deputies of the Prussian Landtag in 1849-1918. The purpose of the study is a comprehensive analysis of the content and practice of the implementation of Decree of the King of Prussia “On the Election of Deputies of the Second Chamber” of May 30, 1849. Results: the paper examines not only the original version of Decree of the King of Prussia of May 30, 1849, but also the texts of all the amendments that were made to this normative act. The important attention is paid to the scientific consideration of the implementation of the legal norms and their impact on the electoral behavior. Conclusions: Decree of the King of Prussia “On the Election of Deputies of the Second Chamber” of May 30, 1849 was in effect until the cancellation of Order “On Elections to the Constitutional Landtag of the Prussian State” of December 21, 1918. By the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century, the majority of the population was actively demanding the liberalization of electoral law. The sporadic amendments did not fundamentally change the provisions of the text of the normative act. The right to vote was unequal: the voters were divided into three classes, taking into account the amount of taxes paid. The election was indirect. The regulation allowed the minority (taxpayers belonging to the first and second class), in contrast to the majority (taxpayers of the third class), to elect several times more electors. The deputies of the Landtag elected by the electors ensured the realization of the interests of the mostly wealthy citizens and minimally took into account the needs of the third-class voters. The representatives of the third class, in comparison with the first and second, participated least in the elections, since they were not motivated by the possible result, on the contrary, they were confirmed in the idea that their vote did not matter. The electoral system, based on the norms of Decree of the King of Prussia “On the Election of Deputies of the Second Chamber” of May 30, 1849, contributed to an increase in the level of absenteeism among the third-class voters.