Question: I want to vote in Italy's upcoming citizenship referendum, but I don't have an opinion on the issues raised in the other referendums. If I want to vote on the citizenship question, do I have to have to vote in these as well?
On Sunday, June 8th and Monday, June 9th, Italians will be asked to vote on a proposal to create a quicker path to citizenship through residency by cutting the current 10-year residency requirement down to five years.
But there are also four other referendums being held on the same dates which are unrelated to the citizenship question.
READ ALSO: Seven things to know about Italy’s citizenship referendum
These concern labour law provisions on unlawful dismissals, severance compensation in small businesses, employment contract conditions and contractors’ liability over workplace injuries.
You can see them all reproduced here on the interior ministry's website and learn more details about them (in Italian) here.
Although these referendums are being held simultaneously, you don't have to vote in all of them.
As lawyer Giuseppe Di Palo explains, when you go to the polling station, you can ritirare (pick up) just one ballot, all five, or any number in between.
Each ballot is on a different coloured card and is marked with a number from one to five.
The citizenship referendum ballot is no. 5, on yellow card.
When you arrive at the polling station and identify yourself with your tessera elettorale (electoral card), you can choose to pick up only the ballot papers for the referendums you want to vote in.
READ ALSO: How can you vote in Italy's upcoming citizenship referendum?
If you do pick up all five ballots, you don't have to mark all of them; you can leave any of them blank when you deposit them in the ballot box.
The key difference is in whether you count towards the voter turnout.
All five referendums require a minimum turnout, or quorum, of more than 50 percent of Italian voters for the results to be valid. The quorum is calculated separately for each vote.
If you deposit a blank ballot paper, it counts towards reaching the quorum for that referendum; if you don't pick up a ballot, it won't count towards reaching that quorum.
Key figures in Italy's ruling coalition, which opposes all five referendums, have publicly called on supporters to abstain from voting on June 8th-9th to prevent all votes from reaching the quorum.
If you are registered to vote from abroad by post, you should have received all five ballots to your foreign-registered address in an envelope (plico elettorale) containing instructions on how to return them to the relevant Italian consulate.
READ ALSO: How can Italians living abroad vote in the citizenship referendum?
Guidelines on how to send in your completed ballots might vary slightly between different countries, so it's important to read through all the instructions and follow them carefully.
As with voting in person, you should be able to choose whether to return any or all of the ballots, marked or unmarked.
For your vote to count, you must ensure that the completed ballots are received by your Italian consulate by 4pm local time on Thursday, June 5th at the latest.
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