Centre-right presents electoral law amendment to allow out-of-town voting for students, workers and patients

A history of stalled reform

Italy’s attempt to let out-of-town voters cast ballots has a chequered past. A 2023 enabling law was approved but quickly bogged down in implementation. In the 2024 European elections a pilot allowed only students to vote in their domicile. That trial was then extended to a referendum on citizenship and labour. However the government later halted the scheme ahead of a justice referendum, citing technical constraints and tight timelines. The government told parliament that the complexity of the framework was too great, and opposition amendments on the same subject were shelved without even being put to a vote. As recently as May, Fratelli d’Italia deputy Angelo Rossi raised the fear that out-of-town voting could “deplete” votes in southern constituencies, a remark that drew sharp criticism from student groups. Rossi told Ansa that the majority had always been in favour but had encountered difficulties on the voting system.

We made a commitment in committee that a solution could be reached with a proposal on the topic, and the proposal has arrived: the majority keeps its promise.

The proposed amendment

On 10 July 2026 four deputies, Fabio Roscani of Fratelli d’Italia (also president of the party’s youth wing), Luca Toccalini of the League, Simone Leoni of Forza Italia and Maria Chiara Fazio of Noi Moderati, presented a single-article amendment with seven paragraphs. The text, entitled “Exercising the right to vote by out-of-town electors in political and European elections, and in referendums under Articles 75 and 138 of the Constitution,” covers elections for the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, the European Parliament, and abrogative and constitutional referendums. To qualify, electors must be temporarily domiciled for at least nine months in a municipality in a different province from their residence, for reasons of study, work or medical care. They must apply each year by 31 December, or within thirty days of moving, to be added to a dedicated electoral register in their temporary municipality. Roscani summarised the core mechanism during a press conference outside Montecitorio.

It provides that students, out-of-town workers and people being treated far from their residence will be able to register by 31 December and vote in the place where they are domiciled.

Overcoming technical reservations

The path to agreement was not straightforward. Interior ministry (Viminale) officials had raised technical worries, while last May Roscani himself warned of a risk of “depletion” of southern constituencies. The opposition’s proposals were set aside amid what was described as “the complexity of the framework.” After intensive consultations within the coalition and coordination among the member parties’ youth movements, a compromise was reached. Forza Italia, whose leader Antonio Tajani had demanded safeguards against voting irregularities, gave its green light after corrections were inserted, Open reported. The chosen method avoids creating special polling stations or importing ballots from the home municipality; instead out-of-town voters will vote for the lists and candidates of the constituency where they are staying. That simplicity, which also eases the administrative burden on the Viminale, helped unlock the deal.

Political reactions and next steps

Angelo Rossi stressed that the majority had fulfilled a promise made in the relevant parliamentary committee. The amendment now faces the normal legislative process. The four signatories announced the text at a curb-side press conference outside Montecitorio, signalling that after years of false starts parliament may finally regulate a right that advocates say affects millions. If adopted, the reform will allow those away from home for study, work or health to vote in the next national, European or referendum ballots without needing to travel back to their official residence.