Historic election for Italian-Canadians

Consul Marco Giomini urges voters to send in their completed ballots quickly

The long march toward Italy's election has officially begun this week. The Consulate, in fact, is now busy mailing out the envelopes with the ballots to over 51,000 Italian citizens who will be called to make their choice. This is a historic moment for Italians who live in Canada and have been waiting for this moment for over 50 years. In Italy, polling stations will be open on April 9 and 10. Italian-Canadians, on the other hand, will cast their ballots a few days earlier, in order to allow returning officers to count their votes at the same time. Consul Marco Giomini explains the procedures currently underway at Beverly Street, what the law on voting abroad says, and what will happen when the ballots will return to the Consulate General of Italy.
Consul Giomini, how are operations proceeding?
"The Consulate started mailing out ballot envelopes on Tuesday, March 21. The last ballot was mailed on Wednesday: in two days, almost 52,000 envelopes have been sent via ordinary mail."
What is in these envelopes?
"They include the voter's certificate; two ballots (a blue one for the Senate and a pink one for the Chamber of Deputies); two envelopes (a smaller one for the ballots and a larger, pre-addressed and stamped one, to be used for returning one's vote); a detailed instruction sheet on how to vote; the text, in Italian and English, of the law on voting abroad; the list of candidates for the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies; and a warning to keep the vote free, personal and secret."
When will the envelopes be delivered?
"Presumably by the end of the week."
What if a voter should not receive the envelope?
"Any such voter must come to the Consulate between Sunday, March 26, and Wednesday, March 29. We have set up an ad hoc task force to assess the position of these people. The task force will be available on Sunday 26 from 9 am to 2 pm, and on Monday 27, Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 from 9 am to 5 pm."
Let's talk of the ballots themselves. How do we vote?
"As we said, the envelope includes two ballots: the blue one for the Senate, the pink one for the Chamber of Deputies. The vote is cast by marking the symbol of the party of the voter's choice with a cross. In addition to voting for a party, the voter can also express a personal preference for one candidate to the Senate and two candidates for the Chamber of Deputies. The important thing is that the candidates must belong to the party whose symbol has been crossed; this can easily be verified from the enclosed list of candidates. Crosses must be marked exclusively in black or blue ink. Using a pencil or ink of a different colour will void the ballot."
After voting, what comes next?
"The voter must put the ballots inside the smaller envelope and seal it. This envelope, in turn, must be put inside the larger one, together with the voting coupon: this coupon is the lower portion of the voter's certificate. All this must be mailed back as soon as possible."
How will the returning ballots be handled?
"It must be clarified that the ballots will not be delivered directly to the Consulate, but to a mailbox that can only be accessed by Italian diplomatic officials. This will guarantee the secrecy of the vote. The law says that the envelope containing the voted ballots must be mailed back by March 30. We shall empty the mailbox for the last time at 4 pm on April 6. I urge voters to waste no time and send their vote in as soon as they can."
What are the main reasons for voiding a ballot?
"As I said, ballots must be voted with black- or blue-ink pens only. No red-ink pens, no pencils, or the vote is not valid. It is also fundamental not to put the electoral coupon in the smaller envelope with the ballots: the coupon must be put in the larger envelope, the one with the address and postage paid. It is also fundamental to put no identification sign (signatures, markings, letters) on either the ballots or the envelopes. Voting twice is strictly forbidden. I repeat, the vote is free, personal and secret."
What will happen after you'll empty the mailbox?
"All the ballots cast in Canada will be brought to the Consulate General of Toronto. From here, a diplomatic official will escort them to Rome, where they will be counted. Our role is purely to collect and forward the ballots: vote counting will be done at the Central Office for Foreign Ridings, in Rome."

Publication Date: 2006-03-26
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=6107