ABSTRACT
The modern municipal constitution marks, in most States, a complete departure from the time-honoured tradition of the “burgher” or freeman, who alone was admitted to civil rights and privileges in the old German towns. The town council consists of fifty-seven members, one-third of whom are re-elected every two years in the proportion of three or four to each class of voters. In order to be eligible for membership of a municipal council, a person must be a qualified voter and be in the enjoyment of full civil rights. The municipal authorities of Berlin and several of the adjacent large towns, of Mannheim and other places, decided to allow the electors in the third class to vote on Sunday. Most State laws simply prescribe the general principles of election and leave the towns to adopt by-laws determining not only the qualification for the franchise but the manner of its exercise.
