Today and tomorrow Italians will vote in a referendum on judicial reform, Italian media outlets, including ANSA, “RAI News“, “Sky TG 24“, “TG com 24“, report.
Polling stations for the referendum will be open today from 7 am to 11 pm, and tomorrow from 7 am to 3 pm.
It took 4 years to get to the referendum. The electoral program of the right-wing party, which won the elections in Italy in September 2022, included a reform of the judicial system. The relevant bill was approved at a meeting of the Council of Ministers on 29 May 2024 and then submitted to Parliament. On 16 January 2025, the bill was approved by the Chamber of Deputies and on 30 October 2025 - by the Senate. However, the law provides for reforms that require an amendment to the Italian constitution. For this reason, it needed the support of two-thirds of parliamentarians in both chambers of parliament. Since this did not happen, the bill approved by parliament will go to a referendum, in which those entitled to vote will decide whether or not they agree to the judicial reform being carried out, as planned in the bill.
The reform provides for four things. The first is the so-called. separation of careers in the judicial system. This concerns magistrates in Italy, who after the reform will be divided into two categories of professionals - judges and prosecutors. There are judges and prosecutors in Italy now, but the two roles are combined and the same magistrate can be a prosecutor at some point in his career and then become a judge. According to the reform, prosecutors and magistrates will now follow two separate career paths from the beginning of their careers and will not be able to maneuver between them. The reform also provides for the division of the Supreme Judicial Council into two independent bodies - the Supreme Prosecutorial Council and the Supreme Judicial Council. The method of appointing the members of the two bodies will also change, introducing selection by lot. The fourth element of the judicial reform is the creation of a new type of court - the Supreme Disciplinary Court, which will deal with cases in which judges and prosecutors have violated the rules in the performance of their duties.
The referendum does not require a certain percentage of voters to vote for it to be recognized as valid. This is a referendum to supplement the constitution, in which there is no quorum of any kind. If the changes are approved by the voters in the referendum, they enter into force; if they are not approved, the old judicial system remains in force.
The latest sociological polls were published two weeks before the referendum, after which there is traditionally a two-week sociological silence, the media recalls. If the voter turnout is low, then the "No" would win the referendum, sociological analyses showed. A poll by Utrend for "Sky TG 24" also showed that with a low voter turnout, the "No" would win with 53.1 percent.
According to a survey by "BD Media", 54 percent of Italians support the division of magistrates' careers, while 36 percent are against, while 10 percent have no opinion, "Fanpage" indicates. The same poll shows that regarding the Supreme Disciplinary Court, 51 percent of those surveyed support the idea, 37 percent are against, and 12 percent have no opinion. However, regarding the creation of two new Supreme Judicial Councils, 46 percent support the idea, and 46 percent are against. As for the election of the members of these councils by lot, 44 are “for“ and 45 percent are “against“. The poll also shows that the turnout could be around 48 percent. In this case, simulations show that 47.3 percent will support the reform, 45.1 percent will be against, and 7.6 percent have not decided how to vote.
According to a poll by “Delphi Observatory“ for “Fanpage“ with a voter turnout of 55 percent, the "No" will receive 48.4 percent, and the "Yes" - 51.6 percent. But with a voter turnout of 45 percent, the "No" will receive 52 percent, and the "Yes" - 48 percent.
The referendum will not decide the fate of Meloni's government. Meloni herself repeated this several times in a number of interviews she gave on the eve of the referendum, as well as at her annual press conference on January 9. She said that she would not resign if the "No" won the referendum. And polls show that less than three out of ten Italians would support the idea of the prime minister resigning at this point, recalls "Fanpage".
During an appearance on Thursday on the podcast of the popular Italian rapper Fedez, Meloni urged voters to vote in the referendum for the reform itself, not for the policy of her government. To those who agree with the reform but do not like the prime minister herself, Meloni recommended that they vote for the reform during the referendum, and next year to vote in the parliamentary elections to “send Meloni home“. If they do not act in this way, then after the referendum they will have both a Meloni they do not like and a judicial system they do not like, the prime minister said during her appearance on the podcast.