«I was thrilled to see the continuous belt that transported the electoral material to the trucks and, from there, to the various polling stations. In my career I have worked in many areas and I have found a particular efficiency in the Turin electoral machine.” So the prefect of Turin Donato Giovanni Cafagna, on the eve of the elections to be held on 8 and 9 June for the European Parliament, the council and the regional president. The Prefecture is also responsible for managing the voting operations for the 203 municipalities of the province, of which eight with over 15 thousand inhabitants (Chieri, Collegno, Giaveno, Leini, Piossasco, Rivoli, Settimo Torinese and, for the first time, Vinovo) called to vote for the Municipality.
Prefect, is everything ready?
«The organizational machine has been in motion for some time. We are all working to ensure that the right to vote is guaranteed in the most efficient way possible. We have set up an ad hoc office that deals with elections concerning the Metropolitan City of Turin.”
The polls open today at 3pm. The ballots are on their way. Is he calm?
«I would say yes, from 7am tomorrow morning the polling stations will be monitored by the police, the State Police, the Carabinieri, the Financial Police and the traffic police. There are 2,312 seats in the metropolitan city of Turin, of which 919 in the capital”.
Let’s talk about news. For the first time in the European elections the out-of-office voters also turn.
«Exactly, it is a new provision, introduced by a law of March 2024. In Turin it concerns 4,266 off-site students».
And how does voting work for them?
«5 special stations have been set up. The sections were selected based on their constituency of residence. Let’s give an example to be clearer: a resident of the South who votes from outside the city of Turin will appear in the lists of the Southern Constituencies. Similarly, the residents of the central Regions will vote for the Central Constituency”.
We now come to the small municipalities. If abstention is high, there is a risk that many will not reach the quorum. Is the commissionership triggered automatically?
«Let’s start by saying that there are 45 municipalities in the metropolitan city in which only one list was presented. For the elections to be valid, where there is only one list, 40% of those entitled to vote must participate in the vote. And that 50% of the valid votes are obtained, otherwise the electoral procedure must be repeated. Pending this, a Commissioner will be appointed who will however guarantee the continuity of the action”.
Is this a condition that worries you?
«It has happened in the past that in some municipalities the quorum necessary for the validity of the elections was not reached. Let’s say that lowering the threshold to 40% facilitates the process.”
For further information, read also:
Some data, how many Piedmontese are called to vote?
«For the European elections, in the 4,795 sections set up throughout the region, 3,540,937 Piedmontese citizens are called to vote, of which 1,810,000 in the province of Turin. For the Regionals, there are 3,621,050 citizens, of which 1,851,681 in the province of Turin. Remember that, for the regional elections, there are a greater number of those entitled to vote because those residing in European Union countries are also included who, on the contrary, for the European elections vote in the EU country of residence at the consulates. Finally, 588,405 voters are called to vote for the municipal elections.”
