Special Delivery: The Night Police Came for My son
So, what is the first thing that goes through your mind when your local policeman rings your doorbell in the early evening and asks if your son is at home—the one who recently turned 18 so he’s no longer a minor? Never mind the fact that he has never done anything illegal as far as you know—your first thought is still, “Oh no. What did he do?” This was the scenario at our home one evening in January right after Filippo and a friend of his had their big blowout to celebrate turning 18, which is a big deal here in Italy. My husband answered the door and invited the officer in, without asking any questions, and he immediately asked for Filippo to come. I was in the kitchen cooking dinner and, upon seeing who it was, turned off the gas and said, “Buonasera” while throwing a questioning look at my husband who shrugged his shoulders to say, “I don’t know.”
As Filippo came into the living room and registered who he was being called to talk to, he immediately stood up straighter and said hello. He later told me his mind was racing about what he might have done to provoke a visit from the police, this officer, who everyone calls “Jackson,” once scolded him for skateboarding along the road, but nothing he had done recently came to mind. Then from Jackson’s bag, came an envelope which contained…
Filippo’s tessera elettorale, or voter registration paper.
Sample voter registration card (tessera elettorale) from Padova
Image | Redazione rete civica Padovanet
What a relief! Our voter registration is always hand delivered, and if for some reason you haven’t received it and you are of legal age to vote, you would go to your local city hall (Municipio) to pick it up. In Italy, the tessera elettorale is a large piece of paper that needs to be kept in a safe place and is only taken out when it is time to go to the polls. We must vote in person and when you show up at the polling place (usually schools) you are checked in with your identity card, sign the registry and your voter registration paper is stamped and dated. Apart from Italians who live abroad, absentee voting is not allowed here. Another interesting fact about voting in Italy is that you can only vote in the national senatorial elections once you are 25 years old. Voting in all other elections is from 18 years old and up.
With the upcoming national elections in the United States, the importance of voting is something we have talked about a lot about in our house. My parents taught me that voting is my civic responsibility and a very reasonable price to pay for the luxury of living in a democracy. Even if you don’t like the current administration, there is always the hope of a brighter future if we are willing to participate in the process. And in the case of the US, we are given that choice every four years. From my perspective, it seems like Americans have become a bit apathetic about voting. Just under 56% of Americans who were of legal voting age turned out for the polls in the 2016 election. During the last round of senatorial elections in Italy in 2018, the voter turnout was around 73% and for the last European parliamentary elections it was close to 80%
Until 1993 voting was compulsory in Italy and absolutely considered your civic duty. Not voting would exclude you from ever being able to run for public office and around 90% of eligible voters showed up for the polls. Oh, how I would like to see those numbers come back!
So, what am I trying to say between the story about my son directly receiving his voter registration from the local policeman and everything else I have shared here? Do you want the right to participate in the political system either actively or passively? VOTE! Showing up for protests about something you feel strongly about is great, but if you don’t follow through by voting for people who believe in that same change, it is not enough. Do you want to be able to legitimately complain about the shortfalls of the political system or the people representing you? VOTE! I know people in many democratic countries feel disenfranchised, but we can change this. If you live in a country where you have the right to make your voice heard, please use it next time you have the chance. I most certainly will!
