shares among the Conservatives and Free Conservatives resulted not only from the electoral law itself, but also from the fact that voter turnout was usually particularly low in their strongholds. Compared to the voting rights for the German Reichstag, those for the Prussian House of Representatives were especially favorable for the Conservatives, Free Conservatives and National Liberals. It was disadvantageous for Poles (the Polish National Democratic Party represented the Polish minority in Germany), the parties that had antisemitism as a significant part of their platforms, and especially the SPD. In 1903 the SPD won 32 of the 236 Prussian seats in the Reichstag, but in the same year none of the 433 seats in the election to the Prussian House of Representatives. Voter turnout in all three classes was far below that in Reichstag elections. In 1913 it was 32.7% (in 1898 only 18.4%), whereas in the 1912 Reichstag election Prussian turnout was 84.5%. The possible reasons are many: the election was always held on a weekday and, unlike in a Reichstag election, voting could take several hours. In the countryside a long trek to a neighboring municipality may have been necessary, whereas in Reichstag elections there was always at least one polling station in each municipality. The lack of secrecy in voting and thus possible negative consequences from casting a vote could also deter eligible voters. For voters in the third class, the relatively low importance of their votes could also have played a role. In many cases, the importance of the primary election was also diminished by the fact that the primary constituency or the entire constituency was politically without controversy and the winner already all but determined before the voting. Voter turnout was particularly low in the third class, where it was only 29.9% statewide in 1913, compared to 41.9% in the second class and 51.4% in the first class. Voter turnout was particularly high in areas with a large Polish population and in Berlin, while in the rest of Prussia the already low average figure was in some cases considerably undercut. Turnout was higher in cities than in rural areas. The historian Thomas Kühne, a specialist in the three-class electoral system, speaks of the "economy of abstention". Voters, he said, did not stay away from the polls in protest against the restrictive electoral law, but because they could agree in advance who would vote – and