Referenda

A referendum is a tool of direct democracy envisaged by the Constitution: it can be abrogative, constitutional, amending territorial units, regional, municipal and provincial. 

Since the first referendum held on 12th May 1974 to abolish divorce law of 1970 commonly know as Fortuna-Baslini law, until the following three referenda on elections, held on 21st and 22nd June 2009, Italian voters have cast their vote to abolish an existing law, or part of it. The quorum required by law to render these referenda valid, i.e. at least a 50% + 1 of all eligible electors, was not reached in 27 cases. 

In the history of the Italian Republic, four referenda requiring no quorum for validity have been held: the so-called institutional referendum of 2nd June 1946 on choosing between monarchy and republic; the consultative referendum of 18th June 1989 on conferring the European Parliament a constituent mandate; the constitutional referendum of 7th October 2001 on amending Title V of the Italian Constitution; the constitutional referendum of 25th and 26th June 2006 on amending Part II of the Italian Constitution.