Italians will be able to vote from abroad in the general election on 4 March 2018, but they will need to register with their municipality by 31 January. Here's how.
On 4 March, Italy will hold its general election, and Italian voters who are not registered with the Aire (Anagrafe degli italiani residenti all'estero – the registry of Italians living abroad) and who are unable to travel to Italy for the occasion will be able to vote from abroad by following a few simple steps.
Read also: General election to be held on 4 March 2018
To exercise the right to vote from abroad, voters must send – by 31 January – a completed form to the municipality where they are registered on the electoral roll. The form can be downloaded online and must be accompanied by a copy of their identity card. The option form can be sent by post, fax or email, or delivered in person to the municipality by someone other than the voter themselves.
Italians who have been living abroad for more than 12 months and are registered with Aire should instead have already completed their voting registration by 8 January. According to January 2017 data, there are almost five million (4,973,942) Italians resident abroad, a figure that does not, however, account for those who emigrate without transferring their residency.
As statistical data from the past 40 years shows, Italy is experiencing a downward trend in the number of voters going to the polls. In the 2013 general election, voter turnout stood at 75.2 per cent, compared with 90.6 per cent in 1979. Although Italian turnout levels remain higher than those recorded in other European countries, they are nonetheless indicative of an electorate whose civic participation is declining, particularly among young people.
It is therefore ethically important that the parties at the centre of this electoral campaign make their policies clear, and that all voters consciously seek out information, so as to be able to exercise their vote to the fullest as both a right and a duty of citizenship.
During her acceptance speech for the Cecil DeMille Award at the Golden Globes ceremony on 7 January, Oprah Winfrey said that the dawn of a new day is on the horizon. Her speech addressed the vital themes of equality and equal rights, but her passionate words remind us, with perfect timing, that in Italy too, with the election, a turning point is approaching. A turning point expressed through the voice of every Italian, through each individual, crucial vote.