Cologne–Aachen (electoral district)

20 Cologne–Aachen Köln–Aachen
Former electoral constituency for the Reichstag
Location within the Weimar Republic
State	Prussia
Province	Rhine Province
Electorate	1,220,653 (1919) 1,567,280 (1933)
Major settlements	Cologne, Aachen, Bonn
Former constituency
Created	1919
Abolished	1938

Cologne–Aachen was one of the 35 electoral districts (German: Wahlkreise) used to elect members to the Reichstag during the Weimar Republic. It sent members to the Reichstag in nine democratic elections between 1919 and 1933. It existed nominally in the show elections to the Nazi Reichstag until 1938.

It comprised the Regierungsbezirke of Cologne and Aachen from the Rhine Province within the Free State of Prussia. It was constituency 20 in the numbering scheme.^[1]

Electoral system

The constituency was created for the 1919 election.^[2] Under the proportional representation electoral system of the Weimar Republic, voters cast a vote for party lists. Parties were awarded a seat for every 60,000 votes in a constituency. Excess votes were aggregated at two higher levels of seat distribution: an intermediate level combining multiple constituencies, where extra seats were awarded to parties' constituency lists, and a national level where seats were awarded to national lists of each party or alliance.^[3][4]

Results (1919–1933)

Vote share

Party		1919	1920	1924 I	1924 II	1928	1930	1932 I	1932 II	1933
	KPD			14.2	8.8	10.4	14.5	17.5	19.3	14.2
	USPD	0.6	8.3	0.7	0.3	0.1	0.1
	SPD	25.5	20.0	10.2	15.4	18.5	14.2	14.6	14.7	12.0
	DDP	7.6	4.1	2.8	3.6	3.2	2.9	0.3	0.3	0.3
	Centre	59.7	51.9	48.5	51.2	42.0	36.4	40.5	39.3	35.9
	DVP	3.4	9.0	7.8	8.0	8.5	4.9	1.2	2.3	1.4
	WP			3.0	3.2	4.4	4.7	0.8	0.4
	DNVP	3.2	4.0	7.3	7.1	7.2	3.0	3.7	5.2	5.7
	Nazi			1.5	0.6	1.1	14.5	20.2	17.4	30.0
Other			2.8	4.1	1.7	4.6	4.9	1.1	1.1	0.4
Turnout		79.7	70.0	70.1	69.4	66.4	78.2	80.7	74.3	85.1
Source: Wahlen in Deutschland

Deputies

Election	Distribution	Seats
1919		13
1920		11
May 1924		12
Dec 1924		12
1928		13
1930		18
Jul 1932		18
Nov 1932		16
1933		19
Source: Wahlen in Deutschland

References

1. "Voters and Elections in the Weimar Republic from 1920 to 1933". GESIS. 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
2. "Law on the Elections to the Constituent German National Assembly (Reich Election Law) of 30 November 1918". Documentarchiv.de (in German). 3 January 2004. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
3. "Reichstag Electoral System". Wahlrecht.de (in German). 25 February 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
4. "Reich Election Law of 27 April 1920". Documentarchiv.de (in German). 3 January 2004. Retrieved 13 November 2024.

External links

• "The German Reich - Overall". gonschior.de (in German). Retrieved 12 November 2024.
• "Explanation of the Electoral System". Wahlen in Deutschland (in German). 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2024.