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Mar 26,2006 - Apr 2,2006 |
Historic election for Italian-Canadians
Consul Marco Giomini urges voters to send in their completed ballots quickly
By Luigi de Biase
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?
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