National Council constituencies in the canton of Lucerne (1848)

In the first Swiss National Council elections in 1848 , a special electoral procedure was used in the canton of Lucerne that differed significantly from those in the rest of Switzerland. There was a division into six sub-constituencies with arbitrary boundaries. The purpose of this approach was to keep the influence of the Catholic-Conservative opposition as low as possible.

causes

Since shortly after the adoption of the Swiss Federal Constitution there were no functioning federal authorities apart from the agenda that was soon to be dissolved, and therefore no uniform electoral law, the organization of the elections to the National Council was the task of the cantons. The canton of Lucerne was a stronghold of the Sonderbund , a defensive alliance of seven Catholic cantons that had been defeated by the liberal cantons in the Sonderbund War in 1847. The federal constitution was adopted with 59% of the votes, but all non-participants in the vote were added to those who voted. The new free-thinking Lucerne cantonal government could not be sure that it would actually have a majority in the upcoming elections. In order to guarantee an overwhelming election victory for the Liberals, the voter potential of the Catholic Conservatives had to be reduced with various measures.

Electoral process

A single constituency was envisaged that combined all six available seats. However, it was only possible to vote at six election meetings with open voting, led by government representatives. Each parish was assigned to an electoral assembly. To this end, six sub-constituencies were created, some with complicated borders, reminiscent of the Gerrymandering in the United States . Since it seemed impossible to eliminate the competition at all election meetings, care was taken to group as many conservative communities as possible in one sub-constituency around Rothenburg . Conservative congregations in other sub-constituencies were, if possible, located in such a way that voters were kept away by long walks. The results of all six meetings were added to an overall result.

Classification

Constituencies of the Canton of Lucerne, 1848

The canton was divided into sub-constituencies as follows:

1st sub-constituency

in the Lucerne office the communities Adligenswil , Greppen , Horw , Kriens , Littau , Lucerne , Malters , Meggen , Udligenswil , Vitznau and Weggis

the municipality of Schachen in the Entlebuch office

The only place to vote was Lucerne.

2nd sub-constituency

in the Entlebuch office, the municipalities of Doppleschwand , Entlebuch , Escholzmatt , Flühli , Hasle , Marbach , Romoos and Schüpfheim

in the Sursee district, the municipalities of Werthenstein (excluding Schachen), Wolhusen and Wolhusen Markt

the municipality of Schwarzenberg in the Lucerne office

The only place to vote was Entlebuch.

3rd sub-constituency

the municipality of Grosswangen in the Sursee office

in the Willisau district the municipalities of Alberswil , Ebersecken , Egolzwil , Ettiswil , Fischbach , Gettnau , Hergiswil bei Willisau , Kottwil , Luthern , Menznau , Ohmstal , Schötz , Ufhusen , Willisau-Land , Willisau-Stadt and Zell

The only place of choice was Ettiswil.

4th sub-constituency

in the Sursee office the communities Knutwil , Kulmerau , Mauensee , Nottwil , Oberkirch , Triengen , Wilihof , Winikon
in the Willisau district the municipalities of Altbüron , Altishofen , Buchs , Dagmersellen , Grossdietwil , Langnau bei Reiden , Nebikon , Pfaffnau , Reiden , Richenthal , Roggliswil , Uffikon , Wauwil and Wikon

The only place to vote was Dagmersellen.

5th sub-constituency

in the Sursee office the municipalities of Büron , Eich , Geuensee , Gunzwil , Neudorf , Münster , Pfeffikon , Rickenbach , Schenkon , Schlierbach , Sempach , Sursee and Schwarzenbach
in the Hochdorf district the communities of Aesch , Altwis , Ermensee , Gelfingen , Hämikon , Herlisberg , Hitzkirch , Hochdorf , Lieli , Mosen , Müswangen , Rain , Retschwil , Richensee , Schongau and Sulz

The only place of choice was Beromünster (then called Münster).

6th sub-constituency

in the Hochdorf district, the communities Ballwil , Emmen , Eschenbach , Hohenrain , Inwil , Rothenburg , Römerswil
in the Lucerne office the municipalities of Buchrain , Dierikon , Ebikon , Gisikon , Honau , Meierskappel and Root
in the Sursee office the communities Buttisholz , Hildisrieden , Neuenkirch and Ruswil

The only place to vote was Rothenburg.

Result

The cantonal government's calculation worked. As expected, the Catholic Conservatives only achieved a good result in the 6th sub-constituency (Rothenburg), so that they could only send one representative to the National Council. The five remaining assemblies were dominated by free-minded voters. Since the tellers only had to estimate the number of votes, exact results are not available.

Individual evidence

^ Erich Gruner : The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 1 , second part. Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1443-7 , p. 611 .
^ Andreas Kley: Federal Constitution (BV). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
^ Erich Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 1 , first part. Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1442-9 , p. 325 .
^ Erich Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 3 . Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1445-3 , p. 506 .

[1] Erich Gruner : The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 1 , second part. Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1443-7 , p. 611 .

[2] Andreas Kley: Federal Constitution (BV). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

[3] Erich Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 1 , first part. Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1442-9 , p. 325 .

[4] Erich Gruner: The elections in the Swiss National Council 1848-1919 . tape 3 . Francke Verlag, Bern 1978, ISBN 3-7720-1445-3 , p. 506 .