Given the number of parties in Italy there are to choose from, candidate platforms to sort through, and the chess game that is the collalition-forming possibilities, voting here is not a simple undertaking. Preparation is key.
Here’s my step-by-step guide to voting in an Italian election…
Step one: If you’re eligible to vote, register at the local election office before the deadline.
Step two: Go online. I found a helpful video entitled, “Elezioni politiche 2018, come si vota.” Watch it here:
Step three: Visit your local coffee bar and ask the baristas and patrons for advice. They are a fountain of information. Order a double espresso to fortify yourself for what is about to come next.
Step four: Walk over to your polling place. Once there, things get a lot more complicated.
Step five: Find the voting room that corresponds with the number on your voter registration card. If a crowd has gathered, ask who is the last person waiting–it’s similar to queuing at the doctor’s office. There are no lines. Italians prefer to bunch.
Step six: While you’re waiting for a booth to open up, some enthusiastic citizen will give the group an explanation of how to mark your ballots. They’ll use the samples ballots hanging on the wall as a visual aid. After the lesson, you’ll still be confused.
Step seven: As a crowd forms and grows bigger, don’t get involved in arguments about who was there before whom; hold your ground and keep your elbows spread. Inside, poll workers were calling our group in–alternating between men and women–though no one is quite sure why.
Step eight: After you’ve been handed your ballots and a pencil, enter a voting booth, close the curtain behind you and mark a large “X” across the party or candidates (or both – this still isn’t completely clear to me) you’re voting for. Fold the ballots and drop them into the color-coded cardboard ballot boxes.
Congratulations! You just voted in Italy.
Orvieto or Bust: 