Italian citizenship referendum void after low turnout
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Italy’s citizenship referendum voided: All you need to know
Only 30 percent of Italian voters participated, well below the 50 percent benchmark that needed to be crossed for the referendum’s outcome to be legally binding. Measures were aimed at revising citizenship laws to help second-generation Italians born in the country, to non-European Union parents, integrate more easily. Immigration has emerged as a key issue, particularly in Western Europe as well as the U.S. under President Donald Trump. The vote came at a time when Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has tightened citizenship laws, making it hard for resident immigrants to obtain nationality. The change proposed by the referendum would have allowed nearly 1.5 million foreigners to obtain citizenship immediately, according to an estimate by Idos, an Italian research centre. That would have included nearly 300,000 minors, who would have obtained citizenship if their parents did. The referendum also sought to make it harder to fire workers and increased compensation for those laid off by small businesses, reversing a previous law passed by a centre-left government a decade ago.
A two-day Italian referendum on speeding up the process of acquiring citizenship for foreigners who legally entered the country and enhancing job protections was declared invalid on Monday after low turnout killed its legitimacy, organisers said.
Polling stations had opened on Sunday at 7am local time (05:00 GMT), and results were expected after polls close on Monday at 3pm (13:00 GMT).
But only 30 percent of Italian voters participated, well below the 50 percent benchmark that needed to be crossed for the referendum’s outcome to be legally binding.
The measures promised in the vote – backed by opposition parties, labour unions and social activists – were aimed at revising citizenship laws to help second-generation Italians born in the country, to non-European Union parents, integrate more easily.
Ahead of this weekend’s vote, the citizenship issue had garnered significant attention in a nation where concerns over the scale of immigration helped propel right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s anti-migration coalition to power in late 2022. Immigration has emerged as a key issue, particularly in Western Europe as well as the United States under President Donald Trump.
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So, what does the referendum propose, and what does its failure mean for immigrants whose lives are in limbo due to the slow process of naturalisation in the EU member nation?
What are the Italian citizenship requirements, and how many immigrants are waiting for citizenship?
The question on the ballot paper asked Italians if they backed reducing the period of residence required to apply for Italian citizenship, by naturalisation, from 10 years to five.
The change proposed by the referendum would have allowed nearly 1.5 million foreigners to obtain citizenship immediately, according to an estimate by Idos, an Italian research centre. That would have included nearly 300,000 minors, who would have obtained citizenship if their parents did.
About half of Italy’s 5.4 million foreign residents could have been eligible to apply for citizenship if the vote had passed.
The vote came at a time when Meloni has tightened citizenship laws, making it hard for resident immigrants to obtain nationality.
Currently, immigrants from countries outside the EU can apply for citizenship only after 10 years of uninterrupted residency in Italy.
What is more, the children of lawful immigrants can apply for passports only once they have turned 18 and if they have continuously lived in the country since birth.
On the other hand, generous bloodline laws allowed people of Italian descent, even if remote, to obtain citizenship, helping maintain a link with the diaspora.
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Between 2016 and 2023, for instance, Italy granted citizenship to more than 98,300 people, mostly living in Latin America, based on their claims of Italian ancestry.
With Italy’s birthrate in sharp decline, economists say the country needs to attract more foreigners to boost its anaemic economy.
Francesco Galietti, from political risk firm Policy Sonar, told the Reuters news agency that keeping such rules tight was “an identity issue” for Meloni, but she was also being pushed by businesses to open up the borders of an ageing country to foreign workers.
“On the one hand, there is the cultural identity rhetoric, but on the other, there are potential problems paying pensions and an economy that relies on manufacturing, which needs workers,” Galietti said.
For context, Italy’s constitution allows citizens to repeal laws through referendums, part of the system of checks and balances devised after Benito Mussolini’s fascist rule in the 1940s.
What wre the other proposals in the referendum?
The referendum also sought to make it harder to fire workers and increased compensation for those laid off by small businesses, reversing a previous law passed by a centre-left government a decade ago.
One of the questions on the ballot also addressed the urgent issue of security at work, restoring joint liability to both contractors and subcontractors for workplace injuries.
Campaigners gathered more than 4.5 million signatures, according to the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) union, far more than needed to trigger the referendum, which will comprise five questions – four on the labour market and one on citizenship.
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“We want to reverse a culture that has prioritised the interests of business over those of workers,” CGIL general secretary Maurizio Landini told the AFP news agency.
Who backed the referendum and why?
The referendum was promoted by a coalition of relatively small political parties – More Europe, Possibile, the Italian Socialist Party, the Italian Radicals and the Communist Refoundation Party – and numerous civil society associations.
It was also being backed by the centre-left Democratic Party, which is jockeying for Italian citizenship laws to be more aligned with EU-wide standards.
Research shows that access to citizenship has positive causal effects.
Immigrants who naturalise experience lower unemployment rates, earn higher incomes and are less likely to be overqualified for their jobs.
By contrast, protracted waiting periods for naturalisation delay or dampen these effects.
These findings support the claim that naturalisation is not only a reward, but also an important catalyst for integration.
The majority of Italians think that citizenship accelerates the integration process as well.
The last Eurobarometer on the integration of immigrants reports that 87 percent of Italians believe that acquiring citizenship is an important factor for the successful integration of immigrants in Italy.
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Even if it had passed, however, the reform would not have affected the law many consider deeply unfair – that children born in Italy to foreign parents cannot request nationality until they reach 18.
Did PM Meloni back the new citizenship rules?
Opposition left-wing and centrist parties, civil society groups and a leading trade union have latched on to the issues of labour rights and Italy’s demographic woes as a way of challenging Meloni’s right-wing coalition government.
Meloni opposed the vote. She said she would show up at the polls but not cast a ballot.
Activists and opposition parties have denounced the lack of public debate on the measures, accusing the governing centre-right coalition of trying to dampen interest in sensitive issues that directly affect immigrants and workers.
A Demopolis institute poll last month estimated turnout would be in the range of 31-39 percent among Italy’s roughly 50 million electors, well short of the required threshold.
Leaders of two of the governing coalition’s right-wing parties, Antonio Tajani of Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini of the League, have also opposed the vote.
The referendum is “dangerous” and would extend access to citizenship “indiscriminately”, Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, said in May.
The failure of the referendum, in effect, represents a victory for the government and its right-wing allies — and a loss for the opposition and workers rights groups seeking an easier citizenship pathway for migrants and better labour rights.
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How significant was the referendum?
Supporters say this reform would have brought Italy’s citizenship law in line with many other European countries, promoting greater social integration for long-term residents.
It would also have allowed faster access to civil and political rights — such as the right to vote, eligibility for public employment and freedom of movement within the EU — to migrants.
Italy is confronting one of Europe’s most acute demographic crises.
Its population is ageing rapidly, with about a quarter of Italians aged above 65 years and just 12 percent aged 14 or younger. The reforms proposed in the referendum could have helped ease some of these pressures.
Italian referendum on easing citizenship rules thwarted by low turnout
Only 30 percent of the electorate cast their ballots over two days of voting, far short of the 50 percent plus one needed to make the result legally binding. The outcome was a clear defeat for the centre-left opposition, which had proposed to halve the period of residence required to apply for Italian citizenship from 10 to five years. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was “absolutely against” the citizenship proposals, announcing she would turn up at the polls but not cast a vote. Many of the 78 referendums held in Italy in the past have failed due to low turnout.
As polls closed on Monday, it emerged that many citizens had heeded Meloni’s call as only 30 percent of the electorate cast their ballots over two days of voting, far short of the 50 percent plus one needed to make the result legally binding.
The outcome was a clear defeat for the centre-left opposition, which had proposed to halve the period of residence required to apply for Italian citizenship from 10 to five years and to reverse labour market liberalisations introduced a decade ago.
The prime minister said she was “absolutely against” the citizenship proposals, announcing she would turn up at the polls but not cast a vote.
A stated goal of Meloni’s government is to cut irregular immigration, but it has increased the number of immigrant work visas.
The general secretary of the Italian General Confederation of Labour union, Maurizio Landini, slammed the low turnout as a sign of a “clear democratic crisis” in Italy.
“We knew it wouldn’t be a walk in the park,” he said, stressing that millions of Italians had turned up to fight for change.
Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party posted on social media that the “only real goal” of the referendum was to bring down the Meloni government, and it added, alongside pictures of opposition leaders: “In the end, it was the Italians who brought you down.”
Opinion polls published in mid-May showed that 46 percent of Italians were aware of the issues driving the referendums.
Activists and opposition parties accused the governing coalition of deliberately dampening interest in sensitive issues that directly affect immigrants and workers.
Campaigners for the change in the citizenship law said it would help the children of non-European Union parents better integrate into a culture they already see as theirs.
Changes to the laws would have affected about 2.5 million foreign nationals.
Other questions in the referendum dealt with labour-related issues like better protections against dismissal, higher severance payments and the conversion of fixed-term contracts into permanent ones.
Opposition forces had hoped that promoting these causes would help them woo working class voters and challenge Meloni, something they have struggled to do since she came to power in 2022.
Many of the 78 referendums held in Italy in the past have failed due to low turnout.
Low turnout scuttles Italy referendum on citizenship
Low turnout scuttles Italy referendum on citizenship. PM Giorgia Meloni and right-wing political parties urged Italians to boycott the democratic process. Referendum sought to reduce the time it takes to become a naturalized citizen from 10 years to five years. Campaigners said this would help second-generation Italians born in the country to non-European Union citizens, who can spend years battling to get full citizenship rights from the only country they know to be their home. The change was vehemently opposed by Meloni’s right- wing Brothers of Italy party, who have campaigned on reducing the number of foreign migrants in Italy and often see Italian identity as intimately linked with blood ancestry.”There is an obvious crisis of democracy,” says CGIL trade union federation secretary-general Maurizio Landini, conceding defeat in the referendum.
toggle caption FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images
ROME — An Italian referendum on granting faster citizenship to certain immigrants and seeking to strengthen labor rights failed because of low turnout, after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and leading right-wing political parties urged Italians to boycott the democratic process.
In conceding defeat, Maurizio Landini, the secretary-general of the powerful CGIL trade union federation that helped bring about the referendum, said it still was a “starting point” on important issues that remain “on the table” for Italy. This includes heated debates over how many immigrants should be welcomed to Italy, as the country suffers a demographic crisis with an aging population and one of the lowest birthrates in the world.
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As well as asking Italians to vote to liberalize the labor market, the referendum sought to reduce the time it takes to become a naturalized citizen from 10 years to five years. Campaigners for the change said this would help second-generation Italians born in the country to non-European Union citizens. They can spend years, often long into adulthood, battling to get full citizenship rights from the only country they know to be their home.
Italian economists have said the change could also be a useful measure to address the problems resulting from Italy’s aging society and low birthrate — just 12% of the population is younger than 14.
On Sunday and Monday, the two days of referendum voting, turnout was low and thus the referendum was declared void. Partial data from Italy’s Interior Ministry published Sunday showed national turnout of just 22.7%, far below the 50% participation by eligible voters that is required for referendums in Italy to be valid. After polls closed on Monday, the YouTrend polling agency estimated voter participation to have been around 30% of eligible voters. In his concession speech, Landini said it was clear from the results that “there is an obvious crisis of democracy.”
Right-wing parties urged voters to stay home
According to the Associated Press and Reuters, the new citizenship rules could have allowed some 2.5 million foreign nationals, about half of Italy’s foreign population, to apply for citizenship.
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This change was vehemently opposed by Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy party and other right-wing political parties, who have campaigned on reducing the number of foreign migrants in Italy and often see Italian identity as intimately linked with blood ancestry.
In the weeks leading up to the referendum, these politicians did not campaign for their supporters to vote “no” but simply called on them to boycott the process. Senate speaker Ignazio La Russa, from Brothers of Italy, said in May that he would “campaign until people stay home.”
The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that Brothers of Italy circulated a memo to party members saying it was “absolutely against” the questions in the referendum and was therefore encouraging members to abstain from voting.
On Sunday, Meloni visited a polling station, but pointedly did not cast a vote.
Referendums have long been an important part of Italy’s democracy. Brought in as part of a system of checks on power after the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini, some have resulted in a high turnout and consequential decisions, including the end of Italy’s monarchy and confirming that divorce be allowed.
While Meloni’s government is not the first to try to quash a referendum with a boycott — left-wing Italian leaders have done the same in the past — civil rights activists and opposition parties expressed outrage, saying this strategy violates “the foundation of democracy.”
Elly Schlein, the leader of the center-left Democratic Party, said it was a “betrayal of the constitutional principles that establish voting as a civic duty.”
Between 1974 and 1995, eight of nine referendums reached the quorum for voter participation. But since then, according to the Italian newspaper Il Post, only four of 34 referendums have had enough voters to be valid.
Italian citizenship referendum void after low turnout
Italian citizenship referendum void after low turnout. Around 30% of voters participated – well short of the 50% threshold required to make the vote binding. The referendum was initiated by a citizens’ initiative and supported by civil society groups and trade unions. The ballot featured five questions covering different issues, including a proposal to halve the length of time an individual has to live in Italy before they can apply for citizenship from 10 to five years. Only about half of the 78 referendums held in Italy since World War Two have attracted enough votes to make them binding. However, there are now calls for that threshold to be increased to reduce the number of votes put to the public.
The referendum was held on 8 and 9 June
The referendum was initiated by a citizens’ initiative and supported by civil society groups and trade unions, all of whom campaigned for the Yes vote.
The ballot featured five questions covering different issues, including a proposal to halve the length of time an individual has to live in Italy before they can apply for citizenship from 10 to five years.
Around 30% of voters participated – well short of the 50% threshold required to make the vote binding – in the poll, which began on Sunday and ran until 15:00 (14:00 BST) on Monday.
A referendum in Italy on easing citizenship rules and enhancing workers’ rights has been declared invalid.
For them, the outcome – which saw turnout levels as low as 22% in regions like Sicily and Calabria – will come as a blow.
Reaching the 50% threshold was always going to be a struggle – not least because the Italian government, led by hard-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, largely ignored the referendum or actively discouraged people from voting.
“Whether just above 30% or just below 30%, this is a low figure, below the expectations and targets set by the promoters,” Lorenzo Pregliasco, the founder of political polling company YouTrend, told Italy’s SkyTG24.
Last week, Meloni announced she would boycott the vote, declaring Italy’s existing citizenship law as “excellent” and “very open”. She visited a polling station in Rome on Sunday but did not cast a vote.
But activists argued that a 10-year wait to apply for citizenship was far too long, and that reducing the requirement to five years would bring Italy in line with many of its European neighbours.
Shortly after polls closed, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy (FdI) party posted an image of opposition leaders on Instagram with the caption: “You’ve lost!”
“The only real objective of this referendum was to topple the Meloni government. In the end though Italians toppled you,” the post read.
Pina Picierno of the opposition Democratic Party (PD), said the referendum had been a “deep, serious and avoidable defeat,” and called the failure to reach the 50% threshold a “huge gift to Giorgia Meloni and the right”.
Half a million signatures are required to call a referendum in Italy. However, there are now calls for that threshold to be increased to reduce the number of votes put to the public.
“We spent a lot of money sending… millions of ballots abroad for Italian [expats] to vote, and they’ve been wasted,” said foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Monday.
Only about half of the 78 referendums held in Italy since World War Two have attracted enough votes to make them binding.
The first one, held on 2 June 1946, saw 89% of Italians go to the polls and just over half of those vote to replace the monarchy with a republic.
In later years, referendums on abortion and divorce were also held successfully.
The last referendum to reach the required threshold was a 2011 vote against a law privatising water services.
Low turnout scuttles Italy referendum on citizenship
Italian referendum on granting faster citizenship to certain immigrants fails because of low turnout. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and leading right-wing political parties urged Italians to boycott the democratic process. Referendum sought to reduce the time it takes to become a naturalized citizen from 10 years to five years. Campaigners for the change said this would help second-generation Italians born in the country to non-European Union citizens, who can spend years battling to get full citizenship rights from the only country they know to be their home. The change could also be a useful measure to address the problems resulting from Italy’s aging society and low birthrate — just 12% of the population is younger than 14, the Interior Ministry said on its website on Sunday. The two days of referendum voting was declared void.
In conceding defeat, Maurizio Landini, the secretary-general of the powerful CGIL trade union federation that helped bring about the referendum, said it still was a “starting point” on important issues that remain “on the table” for Italy. This includes heated debates over how many immigrants should be welcomed to Italy, as the country suffers a demographic crisis with an aging population and one of the lowest birthrates in the world.
As well as asking Italians to vote to liberalize the labor market, the referendum sought to reduce the time it takes to become a naturalized citizen from 10 years to five years. Campaigners for the change said this would help second-generation Italians born in the country to non-European Union citizens. They can spend years, often long into adulthood, battling to get full citizenship rights from the only country they know to be their home.
Italian economists have said the change could also be a useful measure to address the problems resulting from Italy’s aging society and low birthrate — just 12% of the population is younger than 14.
On Sunday and Monday, the two days of referendum voting, turnout was low and thus the referendum was declared void. Partial data from Italy’s Interior Ministry published Sunday showed national turnout of just 22.7%, far below the 50% participation by eligible voters that is required for referendums in Italy to be valid. After polls closed on Monday, the YouTrend polling agency estimated voter participation to have been around 30% of eligible voters. In his concession speech, Landini said it was clear from the results that “there is an obvious crisis of democracy.”
Right-wing parties urged voters to stay home
According to the Associated Press and Reuters, the new citizenship rules could have allowed some 2.5 million foreign nationals, about half of Italy’s foreign population, to apply for citizenship.
This change was vehemently opposed by Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy party and other right-wing political parties, who have campaigned on reducing the number of foreign migrants in Italy and often see Italian identity as intimately linked with blood ancestry.
In the weeks leading up to the referendum, these politicians did not campaign for their supporters to vote “no” but simply called on them to boycott the process. Senate speaker Ignazio La Russa, from Brothers of Italy, said in May that he would “campaign until people stay home.”
The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that Brothers of Italy circulated a memo to party members saying it was “absolutely against” the questions in the referendum and was therefore encouraging members to abstain from voting.
On Sunday, Meloni visited a polling station, but pointedly did not cast a vote.
Referendums have long been an important part of Italy’s democracy. Brought in as part of a system of checks on power after the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini, some have resulted in a high turnout and consequential decisions, including the end of Italy’s monarchy and confirming that divorce be allowed.
While Meloni’s government is not the first to try to quash a referendum with a boycott — left-wing Italian leaders have done the same in the past — civil rights activists and opposition parties expressed outrage, saying this strategy violates “the foundation of democracy.”
Elly Schlein, the leader of the center-left Democratic Party, said it was a “betrayal of the constitutional principles that establish voting as a civic duty.”
Between 1974 and 1995, eight of nine referendums reached the quorum for voter participation. But since then, according to the Italian newspaper Il Post, only four of 34 referendums have had enough voters to be valid.