How to vote
What you need in order to vote, what the ballot paper looks like, and how votes become seats. Briefly, with the legal references.
The rules described here are those currently in force, set by law 165/2017 (the “Rosatellum”). Electoral reform has been under discussion for years: if a new law passes before the vote, this page will be updated and the change noted.
What do you need in order to vote?
A valid identity document and your electoral card (tessera elettorale).
The electoral card is issued free of charge by your municipality. If you have lost it, or all the stamp spaces are used up, the municipality will issue a duplicate — including on polling day itself, when the offices stay open throughout voting hours.
Source: d.P.R. 361/1957
When does voting take place?
Voting takes place on a Sunday, from 7am to 11pm.
Counting for the Chamber begins as soon as polls close, with the Senate following. The date of the 2027 election has not been set: by law it must fall on a Sunday, within seventy days of the end of the legislature.
Source: Art. 1, d.P.R. 361/1957
Who can vote?
Every Italian citizen aged 18 or over, for both chambers.
Until 2021 the Senate required voters to be 25; constitutional law 1/2021 lowered it to 18, so since 2022 anyone of 18 votes for both chambers.
Source: Constitutional law 1/2021
What does the ballot paper look like?
You receive two ballots, one for the Chamber and one for the Senate. On each, the name of the single-member district candidate is printed above the symbols of the lists backing them.
Beside each symbol is that list’s slate of multi-member candidates, in a fixed order that voters cannot change: there are no preference votes.
Source: Law 165/2017
How do you mark the ballot?
One cross on the symbol of your preferred list is enough: it counts for both the list and the single-member candidate that list supports.
Alternatively you can mark only the candidate’s name, in which case the vote goes to the candidate and is shared among the lists backing them, in proportion to the votes each received.
Source: Law 165/2017
Can you split your vote?
No. Split voting is not allowed.
Marking a single-member candidate and a list that does not support them makes the ballot void. It is the most common mistake, because many Italian regional elections do allow split voting.
Source: Law 165/2017
How do you vote from abroad?
Italians living abroad and registered with AIRE vote by post, without returning to Italy.
The consulate posts the ballot pack to your home address, and it must be returned by the stated deadline. Overseas voters elect their own representatives: 8 deputies and 4 senators. Anyone preferring to vote in Italy must tell their consulate within the set deadlines.
What if you are away from home on polling day?
In general you must return to your municipality of residence to vote: there is no general provision for voting away from home.
General elections have no postal vote for people temporarily in another Italian city. Some categories — armed forces, polling staff, hospital patients, prisoners — have specific arrangements. Discounted travel for voters returning home is announced election by election.
How many seats are there, and how are they allocated?
The Chamber elects 400 deputies and the Senate 200 senators, under a mixed system: roughly a third of seats go to single-member districts and two thirds to multi-member ones.
In the Chamber, 147 seats are single-member, 245 multi-member and 8 overseas. In the Senate it is 74, 122 and 4. Single-member seats go to whoever gets one vote more than anyone else; multi-member seats are shared among lists in proportion to their votes.
Source: Law 165/2017
What is the electoral threshold?
A list must win at least 3% of valid votes nationally to share in the proportional seats.
A coalition must reach 10%. Lists representing recognised linguistic minorities qualify anyway if they win at least 20% in their region or take two single-member districts.
Source: Law 165/2017
What happens after the vote?
The new chambers meet for the first time within twenty days of the election; only then does government formation begin.
The President of the Republic holds consultations with the parliamentary groups and appoints someone to form a government. The government takes office after swearing in, and must then win confidence votes in both chambers. There is no fixed deadline, and the winner of the election does not automatically become Prime Minister.