Referendum 8 and 9 June, low turnout and political tension: the challenge of the quorum

Today and tomorrow , over 51 million Italians are expected to vote on five referendum questions. The issues are concrete and stinging: layoffs, contracts, safety on construction sites, fixed-term contracts and citizenship.

The mechanism is the classic one of the abrogative: 50%+1 of those entitled to vote is needed for the vote to be valid. A threshold that recent history has made more symbolic than concrete. And yet, the political fractures are clear: majority and opposition compete for the stage with appeals, strategic silences and hashtags.

Voting is ongoing today until 11 p.m. and on Monday morning . Voting was already held in two days in 2011, the last time a referendum exceeded the quorum. Today, judging by the initial turnout figures and the general climate, the chances of it happening again are slim. The context is fragmented, interest is lukewarm, and participation is far from guaranteed.

Voting in the referendums: how the first day at the polls is going

As of 12:00 on Sunday, June 8, only 7.4% of voters had gone to the polls to vote in the referendum . A disheartening figure , especially when compared to 2011, when 11.6% had already gone to the polls at the same time. A gap that tells much more than a simple decline.

The difference in turnout between regions is significant: at 12 o'clock, about 10.9% voted in Emilia-Romagna and only 4.4% in Calabria. Similar proportions are found in many provinces: for example, in Lombardy (Milan) over 9%, while in Campania the figure is under 6%. The national total, moreover, remains far from the quorum necessary (at least 50%+1) for the validity of the referendums.

Even the polls published in the previous weeks did not promise anything exciting: the estimates oscillated between 32% and 38% of turnout, but the real numbers of the first day were even lower.

Politicians' appeals: from Emma Bonino to Conte

During the morning, several political figures tried to move the electorate with messages on social media. Laura Boldrini spoke of “civic duty,” linking voting to the future of young people. Emma Bonino appealed to democratic responsibility, recalling that “voting is a right and I could not miss it.” Giuseppe Conte , from Palazzo Chigi, chose clearer words: “democracy feeds on participation.” Everyone, regardless of their positions, tried to shake up an apathetic climate.

Meanwhile, reports of irregularities are coming in from the polling stations. Angelo Bonelli reports that in some municipalities, where there is also voting for the administrative run-offs, the polling station presidents ask the voters if they intend to vote in the referendums as well. A practice that he defines as “an abuse”. In Taranto, the Democratic Party has sent an official report for similar practices, deemed “in contrast with the operating manual”.