Justice referendum is being held in Italy over two days although it remains to be seen whether the surge of voters on Sunday will benefit the Yes or No camps.
Italians turned out in extraordinary numbers on Sunday for the first day of voting on a landmark constitutional referendum on judicial reform, with participation figures smashing records for two-day referendums in the post-millennial era.
The turnout reached 46.07 per cent by 23.00 on Sunday, according to data published by the interior ministry, surpassing that of every other referendum of the third millennium held over two days.
Polls closed at 23.00 on Sunday and reopen again on Monday from 07.00 to 15.00. The total electorate, according to interior ministry figures, stands at 51.4 million, including 5.5 million Italians eligible to vote from abroad.
Referendum
The justice reform, championed by prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government, was approved by parliament last October but requires a referendum to become law.
The referendum is widely viewed as a test for Meloni and her coalition which has been campaigning for a Yes vote.
Meloni has hailed the reform as an important step towards a more efficient, balanced and citizen-orientated system, and has made references to alleged “left-wing factions” within the magistracy.
Critics of the reforms, including the National Association of Magistrates and the centre-left opposition, have called for a No vote, amid warnings of potential risks to judicial independence.
Voters are being asked to decide on a constitutional reform of the justice system that would introduce the separation of careers between judges and public prosecutors, the splitting of the CSM – the judiciary’s self-governing body – into two distinct councils, and the creation of a new High Disciplinary Court.
As a confirmatory constitutional referendum, no quorum is required, meaning the outcome depends solely on the balance of Yes and No votes cast.
Historic surge in participation
The day’s turnout figures grew steadily and consistently broke with historical precedents. At the midday check-in, participation stood at 14.9 per cent, rising to nearly 39 per cent by 19.00, before hitting 46.07 per per cent at the close of polls.
The 19.00 figure represented almost 10 percentage points more than the equivalent reading at the 2020 referendum on reducing the number of parliamentarians, which had recorded 29.7 per cent at the same time on its first day, newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano reports.
Compared to other constitutional referendums held over two days, the 2006 devolution referendum had recorded just 22.4 per cent by 19.00 on its first day, and the 2001 reform of Title V had reached only 23.9 per cent, according to news outlet Fanpage.
The figure was also more than double the equivalent reading recorded in June 2025, when a five-question referendum on labour and citizenship had drawn only about 16 per cent by the same hour on the first day.
Emilia-Romagna led all regions with the highest participation at 53.69 per cent, while Sicily registered the lowest at 34.94 per cent, according to TGCOM24.
In Lombardia, turnout exceeded 51.83 per cent by 23.00, with the provinces of Milan and Monza Brianza surpassing 53 per cent, newspaper Il Giorno reports.
Political implications
The high turnout immediately set off intense political calculations. Pre-vote polling had indicated a tendency toward a Yes majority when turnout was high, though forecasters at Youtrend described the situation as “unpredictable.”
Earlier Ipsos Doxa polling had projected that with participation above 49 per cent, the outcome would be on a knife’s edge.
One broadly shared observation was that with such high turnout, the political consequences of the vote could not be minimised: the result would represent either a rebuke or a boost for the government, and either a springboard or a stumbling block for the centre-left coalition ahead of the next general election.
Leaders at the polls
The day was punctuated by social media posts from politicians proudly showing themselves voting. President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella cast his vote at 13.00 in Palermo.
Deputy prime minister and Lega leader Matteo Salvini voted in Rome in the evening on returning from the funeral of Umberto Bossi in Pontida, while the other deputy premier, Antonio Tajani of Forza Italia, voted in Fiuggi in the afternoon.
Centre-left opposition Partito Democratico (PD) leader Elly Schlein and M5S president Giuseppe Conte both went to the polls in Rome in the morning.
What happens next
After polling stations close on Monday afternoon, counting begins immediately, with the first instant polls from Youtrend expected from 15.00 onwards.
With no quorum threshold to cross, a result – and its political fallout – is expected swiftly once counting gets underway.
Photo credit: Massimo Todaro / Shutterstock.com.
