Italian Parliamentary elections to be held on March 4, 2018
(Please note that the following is a translation of the Italian original version)
Following the signature of the President of the Republic of the decree of dissolution of Parliament (Presidential Decree no. 208 of 28 December 2017), and the resolution of the Council of Ministers for the proposal of the date for elections, the President of the Republic, with Presidential Decree no. 209 of 29 December 2017, has set March 4, 2018 as the date for the next political elections. The first meeting of the two branches of Parliament has been set for March 23, 2018.
Let it be recalled that, in accordance with Law no. 459/2001, article 4, paragraph 2, voters resident abroad may exercise the option to vote in Italy. However, the written notice of this choice (OPTION) MUST ARRIVE at the Consular Office no later than ten days after the date the elections are called, in other words no later than Monday, January 8, 2018.
To choose to vote in Italy, a written notice must be provided on unstamped paper and – in order to be valid – must contain the name, last name, date, place of birth, place of residence and signature of the voter. The applicable form can also be used to give this notice, and is available at the Consulate, Advice Centres (Patronati), Associations, COMITES (Committee of Italians abroad), or can be downloaded from the website of the Embassy of Italy ( http://www.ambwashingtondc.esteri.it/ambasciata_washington/resource/doc/2017/12/dgit_02_-_elezioni_2018_-_modulo_opzione.pdf ).
If the statement is not delivered in person, it must be accompanied by a copy of an identity document of the declarant.
As provided by law, voters will be responsible for ensuring that notification of the option sent by mail is received in good time by their Consular office.
The choice to vote in Italy may be subsequently WITHDRAWN by written notification to be sent or delivered to the Consular office using the same procedures, and within the same timeframes, envisaged for the exercise of the option.
If you choose to return to Italy to vote, the law does NOT provide for any type of reimbursement for the costs of travel incurred, but only for certain subsidies in the Italian territory. Only voters who reside in countries that do not meet the conditions for voting by mail (Law 459/2001, article 20, paragraph 1-bis) will have the right to reimbursement of 75% of the cost of travel by economy class.
For more information, please visit: http://www.ambwashingtondc.esteri.it/ambasciata_washington/it/sala-stampa/dall_ambasciata/2017/12/voto-per-corrispondenza-dei-cittadini.html (Italian only) http://www.interno.gov.it/it/notizie/elezioni-politiche-voto-4-marzo (Italian only)
