The day in dribs and drabs, without big queues. This is the pace at which Padua voters went to the polls yesterday, starting at 3pm.
It is the first time that voting has been tried on a half-day on Saturday, but the initiative does not seem to have attracted enthusiastic support from citizens.
It must be said, however, that the context of strong abstentionism is now a stable trend in any electoral event.
Even the experimentation in the Municipality of Padua of mixed unisex queues (and no longer separated between men and women) did not create particular problems: «The flow was regular and therefore no queues formed and the problem did not arise at all», clarifies the councilor for electoral services Francesca Benciolini. The only problem in the city of Padua occurred in a school in Voltabarozzo, where an elevator broke down and a special procedure was activated for some people with disabilities to collect their vote on the ground floor.
«Before every election, the municipal technicians go to check that everything is working – Benciolini always says – These are elevators that are not used much in schools, so it has happened that one has broken». There are 47 complexes – including school and municipal structures – which are polling stations in the city: the only accident yesterday was therefore that of a broken lift. In terms of voter turnout, Padua confirms itself as a province of great participation and the fact that half of the municipalities are also called upon to elect the mayor certainly weighs heavily.
Where there is also voting for local elections, the percentage is clearly above the regional average: see 23.60% for Arquà Petrarca, 22.19% for Battaglia Terme, 20.84% for Ponte San Nicolò, and again 22 .49% of Polverara or 20.40% of Villafranca Padovana.
The city of Padua itself stands out positively, even without the administrative match: 27,139 people voted, i.e. 16.9%. There are numerous, however, municipalities in which the turnout does not even exceed ten percentage points: this is the case of Lozzo Atestino, which records one of the worst performances at the polls with a paltry 6.94%, but also of Granze (7, 85%), Vescovana (7.87%), Codevigo (8.60%), Rovolon (9.12%), Cartura (9.32%), Borgo Veneto (9.45%), Galzignano Terme (9, 46%), Megliadino San Vitale (9.57%), Gazzo (9.64%), Casale di Scodosia (9.72%), Maserà (9.83%).
These are realities in which the driving force of the municipal elections has clearly been lacking: without the need to elect the mayor, evidently many voters have snubbed the European commitment, at least for the first day available.
