The emperor had little political power, and over time the position of the Reichstag strengthened with respect to both the imperial government and the Bundesrat.

It had one of the most progressive electoral laws of its time: with only a few restrictions, all men 25 and older were allowed to vote, secretly and equally, in direct elections.

[4] Members were elected by universal, equal and secret manhood suffrage, with the voting age set at 25.

In most countries at that time, votes were not equal but weighted by such factors as class or income (census suffrage).

[6] Prussia, for example, the largest state in the Empire, used a three-class franchise in elections to the Prussian House of Representatives, with votes weighted by the amount of tax paid.

Also ineligible to vote were men dependent on public assistance for the poor, those over whose assets bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings had been initiated, and those who had been declared incapacitated or been deprived of their civil rights by a court judgment.

[4] In the 1912 Reichstag elections, 22.2% of the population (14.442 million men) were eligible to vote; by comparison the figures were 16% in Great Britain and 28% in the United States.

[8] The layout of the electoral districts, which was based on the 1864 census and did not change afterwards, disadvantaged those political parties that had their constituencies primarily in the cities.

The Reichstag was suspicious of the administration because it had regularly manipulated district boundaries in Prussian state elections.

But in the following decades, the Bundesrat, as a part of parliament, prevented a legislative adjustment of electoral districts.

They enjoyed immunity from prosecution on the basis of their office and security against loss or other financial burden (indemnity), as well as protection from disciplinary sanctions resulting from their political actions as parliamentarians.

Max Weber also counted Prussian Junkers, industrialists, pensioners and high officials among the group.

In 1898 about 40% of Social Democratic deputies were party employees and another 15–20% were employed by the socialist free trade unions.

The makeup of the Reichstag showed that these types of financial provisions could not prevent something like professional political class from developing.

[12][13][14] The proceedings of the Reichstag were public (Article 22 of the Reich Constitution),[15] and the press reported widely on the debates.

In the council of elders (Seniorenkonvent), generally made up of members of the parties' leadership, agreement was reached on committee chairmanships.

Unlike the rules of procedure for the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic, there was no specification of the numbers or tasks of committees.

They chose members of the presidium that was responsible for routine administrative activities and decided on speakers and the composition of committees.

As the governing body of the Reichstag, leading representatives of the parties came together to vote on such matters as the agenda, committee appointments and procedural issues.

[15] Even though no law could be enforced against the will of the state governments represented in the Bundesrat, the latter's importance in everyday constitutional life gradually diminished.

[26] The Reichstag's core responsibility was its budgetary authority and thus the decision on the Reich's budget in the form of a law (Article 69).

It was very difficult to reduce the military budget, and even attempts to influence individual items met with problems.

Indirect taxes and customs duties were fixed for a longer period than the budget, which limited parliament's leeway, and contributions from the states were outside the Reichstag's competence.

Only in customs, trade, transport and similar areas was approval of international treaties required (Articles 4 and 11).

[27] For any area of government action, the Reichstag had the right of petition or interpellation (interruption of the order of the day by demanding an explanation from a minister).

In practice, however, no policy could be implemented in the long term against the will of the Reichstag because it had to pass the laws by a majority vote and approve the budget.

[28] By at times voting down major proposals supported by both the government and the emperor, the Reichstag showed its growing importance in the law-making process.

Universal manhood suffrage (one of the most liberal voting rights of its time) resulted in large-scale political mobilization.

On the other hand, the contrast between the political camps continued to intensify, making joint action against the government more difficult.

[31] In October 1918, with the prospect of imminent defeat in World War I and in the hope of obtaining more favorable peace terms from the Allies, parliament enacted constitutional reforms that required the Reichstag's approval for declaring war and making peace and that made the chancellor dependent on the confidence of the Reichstag rather than the emperor.