On Sunday, May 26, voting will take place throughout Italy for theelection of the new European Parliament. All Italian citizens enrolled in the electoral rolls of their municipality who will be at least 18 years old by May 26 will be able to vote from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. In addition to the list vote, it is possible to cast from one to three preference votes in the list voted for.
The tools available to people with disabilities
People with disabilities can use several important tools to exercise their right to vote. These include assisted voting, free transportation, accessibility of polling stations, and the availability of doctors assigned to issue the required certifications.
It is no coincidence, in fact, that Law 104/92 states to ''ensure full respect for human dignity and the rights of freedom and autonomy of the person with disabilities and promote their full integration in the family, school, work and society."
Transportation and accessibility for polling places
All municipalities are obliged to organize free public transportation services (Article 29 of Law 104/92) to enable voters with disabilities to reach the polling station more easily. Non-ambulatory voters who are unable to access their polling station because it is not accessible may vote in another section of the municipality that does not present access difficulties. Non-ambulatory voters must present a medical certificate ''of inability or severely impaired ability to walk'' or a notarized copy of a special driver's license, in addition to their voter card and ID.
Assisted voting
Among the tools available to people with disabilities is assisted voting. It can be requested both by those who have obtained from the municipality the inclusion on their voter card of the code ''AVD'' or ''Right to Assisted Voting'' and those who, although they do not have the AVD code on their voter card, present a medical certificate stating how their physical disability prevents them from voting without the assistance of another voter.
People admitted to the hospital
For people admitted to a hospital or nursing home, there is the possibility of voting within the place of hospitalization. To be able to do so, one must request both authorization from the mayor of the municipality in which one is registered to vote, and submit a statement expressing the intention to vote in the place of care and a certificate from the medical director of the same place of care proving the hospitalization.
