Elections to the German Reichstag (1871-1890): A Statistical Overview

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	9th Reichstag 1893
Persons eligible to vote: 10,628,000 Total votes cast: 7,702,000 Voter turnout: 72.5% Persons eligible to vote in % of the population (1): 21.5%
	Number of votes (millions)	Share of the vote (in %)	Number of seats	Share of seats (in %)
Conservatives	1.038	13.5	72	18.1
Reich Party (Free Conservatives)	0.438	5.7	28	7.1
National Liberals	0.997	13.0	53	13.4
Liberals	–	–	–	–
Liberal Union (2)	0.258	3.9	13	3.3
German Progressive Party (3)	0.666	8.7	24	6.0
German People’s Party	0.167	2.2	11	2.8
Center	1.469	19.1	96	24.2
Guelphs	0.102	1.3	7	1.8
Social Democrats	1.787	23.3	44	11.1
Poles	0.230	3.0	19	4.9
Danes (4)	0.014	0.2	1	0.3
Alsace-Lorrainers (5)	0.115	1.5	8	2.0
Antisemites, Economic Union (6)	0.264	3.4	16	4.0
Others	0.129	1.7	5	1.3
Total	7.674		397

	10th Reichstag 1898
Persons eligible to vote: 11,441,000 Total votes cast: 7,787,000 Voter turnout: 68.1% Persons eligible to vote in % of the population (1): 21.9
	Number of votes (millions)	Share of the vote (in %)	Number of seats	Share of seats (in %)
Conservatives	0.859	11.1	56	14.1
Reich Party (Free Conservatives)	0.344	4.4	23	5.8
National Liberals	0.971	12.5	46	11.6
Liberals	–	–	–	–
Liberal Union (2)	0.196	2.5	12	3.0
German Progressive Party (3)	0.558	7.2	29	7.4
German People’s Party	0.109	1.4	8	2.0
Center	1.455	18.8	102	25.7
Guelphs	0.105	1.4	9	2.3
Social Democrats	2.107	27.2	56	14.1
Poles	0.244	3.1	14	3.5
Danes (4)	0.015	0.2	1	0.3
Alsace-Lorrainers (5)	0.107	1.4	10	2.5
Antisemites, Economic Union (6)	0.284	3.7	13	3.3
Others	0.397	5.1	18	4.5
Total	7.752		397

	11th Reichstag 1903
Persons eligible to vote: 12,531,000 Total votes cast: 9,534,000 Voter turnout: 76.1% Persons eligible to vote in % of the population (1): 22.2%
	Number of votes (millions)	Share of the vote (in %)	Number of seats	Share of seats (in %)
Conservatives	0.948	10.0	54	13.6
Reich Party (Free Conservatives)	0.333	3.5	21	5.3
National Liberals	1.313	13.8	51	12.8
Liberals	–	–	–	–
Liberal Union (2)	0.243	2.6	9	2.3
German Progressive Party (3)	0.543	5.7	21	5.3
German People’s Party	0.091	1.0	6	1.5
Center	1.875	19.7	100	25.2
Guelphs	0.094	1.0	6	1.5
Social Democrats	3.011	31.7	81	20.4
Poles	0.348	3.7	16	4.0
Danes (4)	0.015	0.2	1	0.3
Alsace-Lorrainers (5)	0.102	1.1	9	2.3
Antisemites, Economic Union (6)	0.245	2.6	11	2.8
Others	0.334	3.5	11	2.8
Total	9.495		397

	12th Reichstag 1907
Persons eligible to vote: 13,351,000 Total votes cast: 11,303,000 Voter turnout: 84.7% Persons eligible to vote in % of the population (1): 22.0
	Number of votes (millions)	Share of the vote (in %)	Number of seats	Share of seats (in %)
Conservatives	1.060	9.4	60	15.1
Reich Party (Free Conservatives)	0.472	4.2	24	6.0
National Liberals	1.637	14.5	54	13.6
Liberals	–	–	–	–
Liberal Union (2)	0.359	3.2	14	3.5
German Progressive Party (3)	0.736	6.5	28	7.1
German People’s Party	0.139	1.2	7	1.8
Center	2.180	19.4	105	26.4
Guelphs	0.078	0.7	1	0.3
Social Democrats	3.259	29.0	43	10.8
Poles	0.454	4.0	20	5.0
Danes (4)	0.015	0.1	1	0.3
Alsace-Lorrainers (5)	0.104	0.9	7	1.8
Antisemites, Economic Union (6)	0.249	2.2	22	5.5
Others	0.528	4.7	11	2.8
Total	11.263		397

(1) According to the most recent census in each case. The following should be considered: in elections occurring some time after the preceding census (such as the 1890 election, which used the census from 1885 – not the one from 1890 – as a basis), the percentage of persons eligible to vote among the total population appears slightly higher than it actually was. The lower percentage in 1871 can be attributed in part to poorly maintained electoral registers.

(2) From 1893 onward: Freisinnige (instead of “Liberale” – different term, same meaning) Vereinigung; as of 1910: incorporated into the Progressive People’s Party.

(3) From 1884 onward: German Liberal Party; from 1893 onward: Liberal People’s Party; as of 1910: incorporated into the Progressive People’s Party.

(4) The votes cast for both the Particularists and the Protest Party in Schleswig-Holstein were applied to the Danes, provided that no additional data was included in the official statistics.

(5) According to convention, the votes cast for the Center Party in Alsace-Lorraine were applied to the Alsace-Lorrainers until 1878, as were the votes of those Reichstag deputies whose votes were listed as counting towards the Center Party in official statistics from 1874 to 1878, but who were not classified as “belonging to the parliamentary party.”

(6) Antisemites participated in the Reichstag elections from 1887 to 1903 as splinter groups under the names: Christian-Socialist Party, German Reform Party, German-Socialist Reform Party, and German-Socialist Party. As of 1907, this category also includes the Economic Union, into which the Antisemites incorporated themselves as the dominant group.