How are voter lists compiled and maintained in Italy?

Original question:

I am interested  in the voter registration system used in Italy.  Could you please respond to the following questions:

1. What are the legal instruments governing the system used to in Italy to generate, maintain and update the lists of electors?

2. What is the nature and structure of the electoral management body (EMB)?

3. Are there any special provisions to allow specific categories of voters any special voter registration opportunities (external voters, prisoners, etc)?

4. What is the methodology/systems used for voter registration and the administrative procedures and processes used? Including: how the voter registration data is derived from the civil register; how this civil register is compiled/maintained; and by whom.

5. Is there any proof of registration provided to electors? 

6. What are the processes implemented to update and maintain the comprehensiveness and accuracy of data on the voter register?

Links to the ACE Encyclopaedia and related resources:

• Voter Registration (ACE Encyclopaedia)

• Voter registration (Comparative Data)

• Storing Registration Data

• Voter's Proof of Identification

ACE Network Facilitator's response:

1. What are the legal instruments governing the system used to in Italy to generate, maintain and update the lists of electors?

Voters’ lists – or lists of electors - in Italy are generated by drawing from national population records maintained by a Civil Registry Authority (called “Anagrafe”) that has branch offices established in every municipality (Comune) of the country.

Hence, more than a voter registration system, Italy has developed through the years and numerous modifications a complex system to generate, maintain and update the lists of electors. The system involves a number of “actors”, each with specific mandates and competencies and it is regulated by a combination of legal instruments drafted, amended and integrated during the very many legislatures that Italy had over the last five decades (with more than 50 governments since World War II).

The main legal instruments governing the system to maintain and update the lists of electors are:

• The “Law 7 October 1947 nr. 1058” (Legge 7 ottobre 1947, n. 1058), which - although substantially transformed during the years - still represents the foundation of the system of norms and procedures established to regulate the voting process of the so called “active electorate” (voters are referred as elettorato attivo, as opposed to the elettorato passivo, the candidates). This Law sets forth the procedures for compiling and updating the lists of electors;
• The “Unified Code” (Testo Unico) established through the “Presidential Decree 20 of March 1967, nr 223” (Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica del 20 marzo 1967, n. 223). Sections II and III of the Presidential Decree 223/1967 set the legal provisions for maintaining and revising the list of electors, establishing in detail the various phases of this process and the responsibilities of the various institutions and bodies involved;
• Two Instructions (Circolari) issued by the Ministry of Interior (Circolare n. 2600/L 1 febbraio 1986 and Circolare Miaitse n. 6 13 febbraio 2002) and the “Law 24 November 2004, nr. 340” (Legge 24 novembre 2004, nr. 340) complement the Presidential Decree 233/1967. These instructions introduced a new role, the Electoral Officer (Ufficiale Elettorale).
• The Law 27 December 2001, nr. 459 (Legge 27 dicembre 2001, n. 459), which establishes the external voting procedures for those residing abroad, as well as the compilation of special lists (Liste AIRE) for this category of electors.

In addition to the main instruments listed above, there still exist a number of amendments, instructions and decrees further regulating the administration electoral process in Italy. A number election procedures are quite fragmented, being conceived, tested and modified over the years – often driven by political agendas – and thus they do not always make several administrative operations cost effective, simple and efficient.

2. What is the nature and structure of the electoral management body (EMB)?

Italian elections are supervised by the “Central Directorate for Electoral Services” (Direzione Centrale dei Servizi Elettorali - click on the link to visit their website), a department of the Ministry of Interior. The Directorate for Electoral Services has the main responsibilities to provide electoral equipment and materials, to supervise and monitoring the various operations by coordinating the network of the “Territorial Offices” of the Ministry of Interior (Uffici Territoriali del Governo or UTG, previously called the Prefetture) with branches located in every provincial capital of the Country. The Ministry of Interior has also the responsibility of analysing and aggregating the results of legislative, administrative elections, referenda and of elections for the European Parliament, of elaborating these results electronically and officially announcing them.

The Department for Internal and Territorial Affairs (Dipartimento per gli Affari Interni e Territoriali) also within the Ministry of Interior, has the responsibility of conducting electoral research, producing case studies, providing legal advice and offering remedies for cases of voters being disqualified and for candidates who have been declared ineligible.

There is also another department responsible for demographic data, the Central Directorate for Demographic Services (Direzione Centrale per Servizi Demografici) also based at the Italian Ministry of Interior.

Voting rights are established by Article 48 of the Italian Constitution:

“All citizens, male and female, who have attained their majority [legal age], are electors.

The vote is personal and equal, free and secret.

The exercise thereof is a civic duty.

The Law lays down the requirements and modalities for citizens residing abroad to exercise their right to vote and guarantees that this right is effective. A constituency of Italians abroad shall be established for elections to the Houses of Parliament; the number of seats of such constituency is set forth in a constitutional provision according to criteria established by law.

The right to vote cannot be restricted except for civil incapacity or as a consequence of an irrevocable penal sentence or in cases of moral unworthiness as laid down by law.”

In terms of voting rights, each Municipal Electoral Office (Ufficio Elettorale del Comune), when compiling and updating the lists of electors, has the responsibility to ascertain:

• whether the elector qualifies to vote;
• the existence of denial of the right to vote (literally: incapacita’ elettorale: “electoral incapacity”).

The Presidential Decree nr. 223/1967 (Articles 1 and 4) provides additional requirements to be ascertained by the Municipal Electoral Offices to determine whether or not an elector qualifies to vote.

Accordingly, an elector must:

1. reside within the boundaries of the municipality (Comune);

2. be an Italian national;

3. have attained 18 years of age;

4. have not been deprived of his or her voting rights.

The right to vote could be denied exclusively for civil incapacity - such as temporary or permanent interdiction from public offices - or as a consequence of an irrevocable penal sentence or in cases of moral unworthiness (e.g. cases of bankruptcy adjudicated by a final sentence) as defined by law.

There exist a number of special voting procedures:

• Special voting in hospitals: The legislation prescribes that a special polling station has to be established in electoral wards within a constituency in which there are hospitals, clinics or other health institutions with a minimum number of 100 and a maximum number of 199 beds, sick people are allowed to vote in such places provided that they can produce their Voters’ Card (Tessera Elettorale) and the special voting authorisation issued by the Municipality in which they are registered as voters.
• Special voting in prisons or other places of detention: Italian legislation establishes that for all elections and referenda, those detained in prisons and other centers of preventive detention who have not been denied of their right to vote, are allowed to vote in such places for any election, including municipal, provincial and regional ones, provided that (1) they are registered in the lists of electors of a municipality; (2) they can produce the Voters’ Card together with the special voting authorisation issued by the Mayor of the Municipality in which they were registered as voters before being detained.
• Assisted Voting (Voto Assistito): The Law 5 February 2003 nr. 17 (Legge 5 febbraio 2003 n. 17) introduced provisions for “assisted voting” for those electors affected by serious impairments, who are physically unable to autonomously express their choice on the ballot paper. By submitting an appropriate request to the Municipal Electoral Office, they obtain the permanent right to be assisted in the voting by a person of their choice.
• External Voting (Voto all’Estero): the “Law 2 December 2001, nr. 459” (Legge 27 dicembre 2001, n. 459) allows Italian citizens residing abroad to exercise their right to elect members to both Houses of Parliament in a constituency specifically established (Circoscrizione Estero) for this purpose. To exercise this right, citizens have to be enrolled in special lists of electors residing abroad, called Liste AIRE. Art.5, Paragraph 1 of the Law 459/2001 establishes that these lists have to be compiled on the basis of the list of the citizens residing abroad which the State has to prepare by comparing and merging the data drawn from the Civil Registry (provided by the various municipal offices of the Anagrafe) with the data of the archives maintained at the consulates abroad (also containing the names of citizens residing abroad who have registered there in order to vote).   Italian citizens residing abroad are enrolled in a “special” list maintained at office of the Civil Registry authority in the municipality where such voters had their last residence in Italy. If any of those citizens has never resided in Italy, they are automatically enrolled in the special list maintained by the Municipality of Rome.
• Home Voting (Voto Domiciliare): Very recently, the Law 23 January 2006 n. 22 (Legge 23 gennaio 2006, n. 22) has introduced, among other procedures, the right to vote from home for those electors affected by serious infirmity, whose life relies on electronic medical appliances and, thus, they are unable to leave their domicile.

All eligible citizens have their names automatically inserted in the lists of electors prepared by the so called “Electoral Office” (Ufficio Elettorale). The Electoral Office is composed of Municipal Electoral Commissions (Commissione Elettorale Comunale) located in every municipality (Comune) and of Territorial Electoral Commission (Commissione Elettorale Circondariale) with offices in every provincial capital.

Members of the Municipal Election Commissions are elected by the members of the Municipal Councils during the first meeting immediately following the election of the Mayor. The Mayor presides the Municipal Electoral Commission. 

Members of the Territorial Election Commissions are elected by the members of the Provincial Councils, during their first meeting. Territorial Electoral Commission are connected to the judiciary system, are presided by a Deputy Prefect, one member is appointed from the Territorial Office of the State (UTG/Prefecture) and three additional members are proposed by the political parties and nominated by the Provincial Council. The functions of the Territorial Commissions are set forth by Art. 29 of the Presidential Decree n.223/1967, which prescribes their general oversight on the work of all Municipal Commissions within their territory of jurisdiction, the adjudication of appeals, and deciding on the inclusion or cancellation of any citizen from the lists of electors. Electors may appeal against any decisions of both levels of Commissions.

The Electoral Office is responsible for the generation of the lists of electors, for their approval, for monitoring all periodic or extraordinary revisions and updates of the lists, for certifying them and for the selection and nomination of the Presiding Officers and other polling officials.

Lists of electors are divided into three types:

• General Lists (Liste Generali): General lists of electors include personal details of all electors residing in a municipality, who are of voting age and of those who will attain voting age in the next semester.  General lists are compiled by every municipality, in alphabetical order, with separate lists for male and female electors, and they are based on data coming from population records (provided by the Anagrafe of that municipality) and from the special lists of those residing abroad. They various entries have a sequential number.
• “Sectional” Lists (Liste Sezionali): Sectional voters’ lists include electors residing in each “electoral section” within the municipality. These are the lists used by polling officers to ascertain the identity of voters on election day. Each entry has an order number (numero d’ordine) different from the one used in the General Lists.
• Additional Lists (Liste Aggiunte): There are several types of Additional Lists, among which the Additional List for the European Union used for the elections of Mayors and of Municipal Councils. It includes the names of those citizens of EU Member States who reside in that municipality and have submitted a request to vote in municipal elections. These citizens have the right to run as candidates if they wish to. Another Additional List is for the elections of the Members of European Parliament. Citizens of EU Member States who reside in that municipality and have submitted a request may vote in such elections.

The Mayor, in agreement with the Electoral Commission and with the authorisation of the Territorial Office of the State (UTG), has the authority to compile General Lists of electors from scratch only after that 10 years have past from the initial production of these lists.

Lists are public and can be made available in copies. Art. 51 of the Presidential Decree 223/67 establishes that the Municipal Electoral offices is authorised to copy, print or sell the lists of electors for anyone who has requested them. Previously, they were reproduced and handed out exclusively for electoral purposes. In 2003, Art. 51 was amended by adding provisions to make copies of the lists of electors available if they are going to be used for any of the following purposes:

• for the actual implementation of the electoral process;
• for purposes of study;
• for conducting any type of research, statistical, scientific or historical one; and
• for pursuing any issue of collective and general interest.

All Municipalities are responsible for maintaining General Archives of electors divided in various Indexes, containing the following information on the electors residing in that municipality:

• An Index of electors who will be cancelled. It includes: electors no longer residing in the municipality; deceased electors; those who changed their nationality; electors residing abroad that are voting in the new country of residence; electors deprived of their right to vote; electors enrolled twice by mistake; by mistake requesting to change/correct any personal detail; those have been detained and those who are under house arrest (they can only vote by submitting a request through the correctional institution);those who are untraceable.
• An Index of electors who have been cancelled. It includes records of those who have been already cancelled in the past for having changed their nationality; for having gone bankrupt; for being detained; for being untraceable.
• An Index of electors who have to be inserted. It includes those who came to reside in the municipality; those are residing abroad and are requesting to vote in their original constituency; those have been regaining their right to vote; those who will become of voting age in the following semester.

The Voters’ Card (Tessera Elettorale) represents a proof of registration.

The Voters’ Card has been first introduced during the legislative elections of 2001. It is a personal card to be used by each elector, with the same functions of the previous document, the so called “electoral certificate” (certificato elettorale). The Voters’ Card is a permanent document can be used for up to 18 elections, the electoral certificate was issued shortly prior each election, door to door.

The Voters’ Card contains the personal data of the elector, such as the place of residence, the number and polling station assigned to the elector, the polling centre, and constituency in which he or she is allowed to exercise the right to vote in every election.

In case of any changes to the data and information contained in the Voters’ Card, the Municipal Electoral Office is responsible for registering all variations and for producing a sticker that contains all these variations. The sticker is then sent by mail to the concerned elector, who has to affix the sticker on his or her Voters’ Card.

The Voters’ Card is a permanent document necessary for a citizen to exercise his or her voting rights. On Election Day, to be allowed to vote, every citizen has to produce to the polling officials the Voters’ Card together with an official identity document.

Voters’ Card are issued by Municipal Electoral Offices and sent to the electors by mail.

The legal instruments governing the system to generate, maintain and update the lists of electors establish uniform procedures to be followed by the Electoral Office (Ufficio Elettorale) to keep the lists as current, accurate and up to date as possible.

There are different types of revisions of the lists of electors:

• Periodic Revisions (revisioni semestrali) are meant (1) to enlist all those who will attain voting age within the next semester and (2) to delete from the lists the names of those who have to be cancelled for any reason (i.e. because of any change in the population records, because of new censuses, because they changed residence, because they have attained more than 100 years of age, etc). 
• Ordinary Revisions (revisioni dinamiche ordinarie): While periodic revisions are used to enrol electors who have not yet attained voting age, ordinary revisions are carried out to enrol those who are already of voting age, but for any reason their name does not appear in the lists. Periodic revisions take place twice per year, every January and July respectively.  During the first 10 days of January and of July, Municipal Electoral Commissions purge the names of all those electors who have to be removed from the lists of electors. During the last 10 days of January and of July, Municipal Electoral Commissions add new names and correct existing entries. Changes taking place during ordinary revisions include: deletions of deceased electors; change of residence in another municipality; change of nationality; deprivation of voting rights; new enrolments due to immigration in another municipality; re-acquisition of voting rights; and for any other reason other than the attainment of voting age. 
• Extraordinary Revisions (revisioni dinamiche straordinarie). The legislation also sets provisions for extraordinary revisions of the lists of electors to be conducted immediately before an election, with a shorter timeframe.

Extraordinary revisions are divided in 4 parts:

• A first revision taking place 8 days before the official opening of the election campaign;
• A second revision taking place 45 days before of election day;
• A third revision taking place 30 days before elections day to insert names of those electors who qualify for reasons other than the attainment of voting age;
• A fourth revision taking place 15 days before election day to delete names of deceased electors.

After the fourth revision no further changes are allowed to the lists.