More/Different Prince-Electors?

The prince-electors of the HRE were those princes who, initially when the Empire was formed, selected who would be crowned the Emperor. Though this position became more ceremonial once the Hapsburgs took power, they still wielded power and prestige. The composition remained largely static over the years:
3 ecclesiastic prince-archbishops (Trier, Cologne, and Mainz) and 4 secular princes (Bohemia, Electoral Palatinate, Saxony, and Brandenburg). Two later additions would be Bavaria and Hanover, the former due to the Wittelsbach branches of Bavaria and the Palatinate conflicting with one another and the latter due to balancing between Protestant and Catholic electors. The title became meaningless once the HRE was dismantled under Napoleon.

What if, when the Empire was first created, there were more electors or different princes were chosen? Who would have been picked? How might this affect who the Emperor was? Would it have made it more difficult for a single dynasty like the Hapsburgs to claim the title?
 
Well, I'm not sure about more, but different is possible. In a conversation I had with @Zulfurium (involving a more permanent Wittelsbach/Luxemburg march of Brandenburg) we agreed that it seemed unlikely that they would allow the Luxemburgs two votes (Bohemia AND Brandenburg) and the electors were created to specifically EXCLUDE the imperial Wittelsbachs (why Bavaria DIDN'T get an electoral seat until the 17th century, while the Palatinate did) as well as the Habsburgs (Rudolf IV of Austria flipped the bird to that and basically carried on as though he was an elector (or on par with them, at least), anyway.

We also mentioned how a likely candidate for a Brandenburg-replacement would be a north German house - perhaps the Welfs or the Nassaus. I suggested that it would be hilarious (not sure how likely it'd be though) if the Welfs (instead of the Wettins) were to wind up with the "electorate of Saxony" when the Saxe-Wittenburgs go extinct
 
Well, I'm not sure about more, but different is possible. In a conversation I had with @Zulfurium (involving a more permanent Wittelsbach/Luxemburg march of Brandenburg) we agreed that it seemed unlikely that they would allow the Luxemburgs two votes (Bohemia AND Brandenburg) and the electors were created to specifically EXCLUDE the imperial Wittelsbachs (why Bavaria DIDN'T get an electoral seat until the 17th century, while the Palatinate did) as well as the Habsburgs (Rudolf IV of Austria flipped the bird to that and basically carried on as though he was an elector (or on par with them, at least), anyway.

We also mentioned how a likely candidate for a Brandenburg-replacement would be a north German house - perhaps the Welfs or the Nassaus. I suggested that it would be hilarious (not sure how likely it'd be though) if the Welfs (instead of the Wettins) were to wind up with the "electorate of Saxony" when the Saxe-Wittenburgs go extinct
Ah, so the ruling family who would inherit the electorate was also an important factor I did not consider. That makes sense.

What then might happen of the scope of which families were considered important increased? Perhaps making an electorate in Burgundy(Provence maybe) and Italy (probably Milan) to ensure their loyalty?
 
Ah, so the ruling family who would inherit the electorate was also an important factor I did not consider. That makes sense.

What then might happen of the scope of which families were considered important increased? Perhaps making an electorate in Burgundy(Provence maybe) and Italy (probably Milan) to ensure their loyalty?

AIUI the ecclesiastical electorates held jurisdiction over Italy, Burgundy-Arelat and Italy. Not to mention that the emperor was, AFAIK, elected solely by princes of the German nation (with the "foreigner" king of Bohemia's electoral vote included as a tie-breaker)
 
Initially all the direct upper nobility vassals of the German Kingdom (preceded by East Francia, Lotharingia and conquered eastern Wendic (Slavic) marches) were allowed to vote for the next monarch. Those nobles holding an nominal office in the Imperial Court, were the ones earlier at the election site to make preparations. In fact originally every duke of a Stem duchy held an archoffice, so this includes Bavaria and Swabia, but they at various points inherited other duchies with archoffices, so these got redistributed. Brandenburg ended up with the original archoffice of the duke of Swabia (that was possible due to the fact that house of Hohenstaufen were also dukes of Franconia by inheritance), the house of Hohenstaufen ceded that office to the Margrave of Brandenburg, who had failed to become duke of Saxony, to smooth over the succession in the Saxon lands.

IOTL there were more archbishoprics in the German Lands of the Empire, Hamburg-Bremen, Magdeburg and Salzburg. There also were more old duchies treated as being of the same rank as the Stem duchies, Carinthia, Upper Lorraine (AKA Upper Lotharingia), Lower Lorraine (AKA Lower Lotharingia) and the duchy of Bohemia; like Carinthia (the Bavarian eastern marches) the Saxon marches could achieve a similar position. IIRC that would result in 15 electors.
 
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