Since 1952, the members of the Council of Europe have enshrined, in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the right to free elections (art. 3 of the additional protocol), establishing that "The High Contracting Parties undertake to organize, at reasonable intervals, free elections by secret ballot, in conditions such as to ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people on the choice of the legislative body". From this article it is clear that European States have the duty to guarantee elections to their people since they themselves are the holders of sovereignty (as it is clear art. 1 paragraph 2 of the Italian Constitution and in many others Constitutional Charts). But is it really so? Does everyone have this right? Are we all capable of exercising it?
The results of the latest European Parliament elections held on 25 May 2019 are clear: only 59.6% of voters exercised their right to vote. Why, you ask? Why such a low percentage? In the elections to the Italian Parliament for the 19th legislative term, only 4% more people voted than 59.6% (ELIGENDO Il sistema integrato di archiviazione e diffusione dei risultati elettorali, s.d.)1 who voted in 2019. Another statistic that ought to make us think is the following: the highest percentage of abstentions was recorded in the age group between 18 to 34 years old (the youngest to vote) and was equal to 42.7% (IPSOS)2. Someone could support the thesis according to which this percentage is due to young people's disinterest in politics... but what if it were something completely different? Let's try to think differently: isn't it possible that the percentage of young voters is so low precisely because young people don't have the opportunity to go to the polls?
Until now, in Italy, those who are legally resident in a place but who have not transferred their residence to location where they live (students/workers away from home) have been unable to vote in elections (whether referenda, national or European elections, regional, municipal…); in the political elections of 25th September 2022 for the national parliamentary election, over 5 million citizens would have had to return home to vote.
In the last month, the situation seems to be changing: in the Senate, the Constitutional Affairs Commission has started examining some bills regarding voting of offsite voters. The proposal presented to the Senate aims to guarantee the possibility only for non-resident students to vote in a place other than their legal residence but limited to the European elections (which in Italy will be held on 8-9th June). It seems like the moment has finally come for Italian non-resident students who still represent a large pool of votes, large enough to be able to influence the outcomes of the Italian elections, to fully gain their voting rights.
This is the current situation in Italy, but until now has perhaps been the only one in Europe who has not guaranteed the right to vote to non-residents? Unfortunately, it’s not the only one. Together with Italy, there are 2 other European Union countries that do not guarantee the right to vote to non-residents and they are Cyprus and Malta (HOLGADO, s.d.)3. In other countries, however, how has this problem been solved? Let's take a look.
1. Through postal voting in Spain, Luxembourg, Germany (since 1957), Ireland, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and Poland, citizens can vote by post, obviously days before the national elections. This system has guaranteed excellent results, allowing voting in both national elections but also regional, municipal and European ones. In Italy, postal voting exists but only for Italian citizens residing abroad (which turns out to be a paradox, because citizens living abroad have the right to vote guaranteed better than offsite voters inside the country). This solution is a valid alternative but it is clear that ballot delivery, marking, and counting systems used in postal voting present considerable and unique challenges to the integrity of elections.
2. Voting by proxy is possible in France, Belgium, Poland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Sweden. In particular, in France, it is possible to delegate a person by delivering a form signed by the interested party to the public official, up to the day of the vote (but ensuring that the delegation is delivered before the vote). In the case of France, the restriction is given by the fact that the voter and the delegate must be registered in the electoral lists of the same municipality and that the delegate, on the day of the vote, cannot have more than two proxies. Despite this constraint, such a system would be a good solution for students who, returning home for the holidays, wish to delegate a person to vote for them in future elections, handing over the form delegating a third party to the state officials, even months before the election. These proxies can obviously be revoked and can have a specific duration which can also be extended.
3. Through early voting. In Denmark, as in other European countries, there is the possibility of anticipating the decision of non-residents by one day, at one of the 98 national registration offices, through a request within 2 days before the election.
4. Through electronic voting. Another option to guarantee voting to non-residents is through an electronic mechanism. Estonia was the first country in the world to equip itself with a digital portal through which it is possible to express oneself only by having an electronic device and a valid identity document. The votes cast through this procedure are encrypted and forwarded to the servers. In Estonia 1/3 of the votes are cast electronically.
The introduction of these methods has led to satisfactory results, guaranteeing increasingly larger sections of the population to vote. Could one of these become a valid solution for Italy too? Hopefully we'll find out soon!
Bibliography
ELIGENDO Il sistema integrato di archiviazione e diffusione dei risultati elettorali. (s.d.). Tratto da https://elezionistorico.interno.gov.it/index.php?tpel=E&dtel=26/05/2019&es0=S&tpa=I&lev0=0&levsut0=0&ms=S&tpe=A
HOLGADO, Y. H. (s.d.). Editoriale Domani. Tratto da https://www.editorialedomani.it/autore/youssef-hassan-holgado-engpsooa
IPSOS. (s.d.). Tratto da https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2022-10/Elezioni%20politiche%202022_le%20analisi%20Ipsos%20post%20voto.pdf
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