Referendum in Italy

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The Constitution of Italy provides for legally binding referenda.

1 Limitations
2 Requirements
- 2.1 Quorum
3 Variations
4 List of Referenda

[edit] Limitations

It is forbidden to call a referendum regarding financial laws, laws relating to pardons, or the ratification of international treaties: it is therefore not allowed to vote to abolish a tax, to pardon a criminal (note that ancient Rome used to have exactly such an institution, the provocatio ad populum), or against Italy's participation in NATO or the EU Constitution.

[edit] Requirements

Ordinary referenda can only be called in order to abrogate totally or partially a law; for their proposal to be accepted, a committee must gather at least 500,000 validated voter signatures, or five regional councils must formally ask for it.

Any citizen entitled to vote in an election to the Chamber of Deputies (that is, at least 18-year old) may participate in a referendum.

[edit] Quorum

For the referendum to be valid, at least 50%+1 voters must cast their ballot. If this quorum is not met, the referendum in invalid and, in practice, it is a victory for the nays. This provision has recently come under criticism (most usually from aye supporters in each single referendum) since its application means that nay voters can piggyback on abstainees (usually a sizeable 30–40% of voters) by simply not voting. This also means that casting a nay vote may actually help the aye side to reach a quorum, and that by going to vote one, in practice, states he or she will vote aye.

Critics have pointed out this defeats the purpose of secret vote, since electoral records of voters at each referendum are kept and are fairly easily accessed. In some cases, rumours have circulated that some anti-democratic employers required their employees' voting cards in their custody during the vote, in an effort to make a referendum fail.

[edit] Variations

Other types of referenda are confirmative referenda on constitutional reforms (where voting aye means you want to keep the law, whereas voting aye in a normal referendum means you want to abolish it) and the one-of-a-kind referendum for the institution of the Republic in 1946. Confirmative referenda on constitutional reforms are unique in that they do not require a quorum.