A leap in the vote. The electoral law is in place, fine. But when is the vote? A modest proposal: let the people decide

Now that the new electoral law has been enacted, the next step is to put it into practice – in other words, to go and vote. The question is: when? The situation resembles the certainty of death: we know it will happen, but we do not know the day or the hour; the only difference is that, between dying and going to vote, the former is preferable. In Italy, general elections are held every five years; yet the term ‘year’ is an abstract concept, or at any rate an ambiguous one open to interpretation: there is the calendar year, the academic year… In theory, the vote should take place in September; however, holding the election in that month was already problematic five years ago, and repeating that mistake would be highly undesirable. This is not least because it would mean, for the second time in a row, having to endure (and, from our perspective, suffer through) an election campaign during the summer; and it was already unbearable in 2022, let alone next summer, which is set to be even hotter than the one that has only just ended.

However, who can endure temperatures of forty degrees while Vannacci makes ever more outlandish claims and Meloni shouts, or while Conte and Schlein appear to have only one item on their government agenda: drink plenty of water and avoid going out during the hottest part of the day? September, however, is too late—not only because it is too close to the budget bill, but also because schools are reopening; will they be opened only to be closed again in order to use them as polling stations? Moreover, temperatures remain high in September and most schools lack air-conditioning, raising concerns about the health of elderly voters waiting in line at polling stations. Moving the vote earlier would place the campaign in the midst of summer, and the only thing worse than the election campaign itself is the moment the results arrive: receiving them while already exhausted and overheated could be a genuine coup de grâce. We would have to vote even earlier, then, but that is spring: the only nice days we have left to spend outdoors, given that from now on, in summer, we will have to stay cooped up with the air conditioning on in well-insulated rooms. Who would wish to spend the only tolerably sunny Sunday cooped up inside a polling booth? March, on the other hand, is Easter: the Pope has already undergone surgery; I would not want to add to his distress by spoiling the festival that means the most to the Church. In February, there is the Sanremo Festival, and the two events need to be kept separate to avoid confusion—such as Stefano De Martino going to Palazzo Chigi and Giorgia Meloni to Eurovision. In February, the Italian public is called upon to vote by telephone, and they cannot do two things at once.

In January, voter turnout is traditionally low. However, the Christmas period precedes it—a time when many people living away from home return for the holidays, potentially increasing participation. The truth is that if we wait for the government to decide when to go and vote, we risk never finding out: like one fine day, out of the blue, the It-Alert goes off on our phones and we’re told to all turn up at the polling stations straight away, because it’s election day. But why don’t we decide for ourselves? After all, that is what elections are all about: the moment when the people decide. Let us start with the date: let us tell the Home Office, ‘Right then, we will be coming to vote on this day, at this time; can you make sure there are ballot papers and pencils ready for us?’. Therefore, let us consult our calendars: when would you be available? For instance, this coming Sunday—would you be busy? I have a wedding in the afternoon, so I could easily visit the polling station in the morning. Please let me know, and we will coordinate accordingly.