"Article 48bis text largely confirms our suppositions. The right to vote is not linked to stable residence papers but everyone who holds requisites to stable residence papers will be entitled to apply for the right to vote. Requisites are: having regularly lived for at least six years in Italy, holding papers allowing to an undetermined in numeber renewals and an income that manages to have both the requireer and his/her family supported. There’s also another requisite that must be answered to, which is not connected o stable residence papers, it is the person must be uncharged and unsentenced of crimes.
Many newspapers read this rule as the fact that migrants must be free from precedents. But unfortunately the situation is more serious. Criminal precendents is determined by a sentence, while absence of sentences happens in case a migrant citizens is for some reasons being sent to court. According to Italian law this doesn’t mean that a person is responsible of a crime, since responsability is sentenced by court. this point is extremely risky, in fact unclear operations may occur.
Another issue is the fact that the right to vote is a right that can operated only via request. Requisites are not enough, migrants must specifically ask for the right to be enforced. The law decree says nowhere where the application to the right to vote must be given in. We can suppose that rules for the enforcement of the law would be written in case the decree is approved of. We anyway need to have it clear what it really means to have the right to vote become operative.
Article 48bis introduces a concept, a juridical parameter linked to income criteria which will for sure introduce discrimination among migrants and will also introduce the chance to control how the right to vote will be used by migrant citizens. This law decree is also a constitutional change proposal therefore times are to be long. The constitutional path was not necessary, in fact the right to vote enlarged to migrants counld be easily enforced within ordinary laws and rules.
We must be extremely clear on the elements we are critical upon, but I believe that we also must take good use of the discussion actually opened by An proposal. Our contributions questions about the fact that the right to vote issue is to be thought as a right that should be absolutely and entirely guaranteed and it should be only connected to migrant citizens residence. This kind of right was already recognized by many EU countries. We should also start discussing on rules for the enforcement of art. 48bis which will practically realize the right to vote. I believe we should inform on experimental cases that are locally taking place."
