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Ferdinand Lindner, An Electoral Philistine – The Doubtful Voter [Ein Wahlphilister – Der verunsicherte Wähler] (c. 1890)

A Reichstag voter is dismayed by the range of parties for whom he might cast his ballot. His choice is made more difficult still by the quantity of printed materials outlining the parties’ platforms and the vehemence of their functionaries’ attempts to win his support just before he enters the polling station. In this scene, party workers attempt to push a preprinted ballot in favor of their candidate into the “doubtful voter’s” hands while a policeman (left) looks on benignly.

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Ferdinand Lindner, <i>An Electoral Philistine – The Doubtful Voter</i> [<i>Ein Wahlphilister – Der verunsicherte Wähler</i>] (c. 1890)

Source: Bilder aus dem alten Deutschen Reichstag 1867-1900. Sammlungen Dietrich Rollmann and Michael Ropers, ed. Achim Zink. Bonn, n.d.; reproduced in Lothar Gall, ed., Regierung, Parlament und Öffentlichkeit im Zeitalter Bismarcks. Politikstile im Wandel. Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh, 2003, dustjacket.