Elections, the government’s absurd thesis to block the digital collection of signatures

The government it is constituted against the admission of the list Referendum and Democracy with Cappato in the elections of 25 September, in the appeal presented by the list itself to the Court of Milan. A position taken by the executive that comes a few days before the hearing scheduled for September 19, during which the political group will contest the decision of the Court of Appeal and Cassation of not having recognized as valid le digital signatures submitted in support of the candidature.

“In fact, the precautionary measure advocated by the applicants would require the holding of the elections to be postponed“, wrote the state lawyer in the statement filed in the name of the Government, in which the recognition of the digital signature is also contested on the merits. However, in his appeal, the list did not request the suspension or postponement of the electoral roundbut only the recognition and admission of the lists presented in the Lombardy district for the Senate.

The list has also repeatedly asked for a decree confirming the validity of the digital signature for the elections, as already experienced for the referendums, long before the calling of the elections, which, however, never met. If the government had intervened earlier there would have been no risk of postponement of the electoral appointment. Furthermore, the Italian government, through the Ministry for Simplification and the Ministry of Economy, was already been in charge in 2017 to evaluate how to allow the collection of signatures in digital format for the presentation of candidacies and lists, on the occasion of electoral consultations. But even in this case, the government remained immobile.

Cappato then underlined how the government’s motives would represent a “Institutional blackmail”since the electoral offices “Having considered the method of presentation of the lists inadmissible, they did not carry out any checks on the actual existence and regularity of the subscriptions presented digitally”. In simple terms, the state has not even opened the USB sticks which contained the tens of thousands of signatures collected to present the candidacy of the list in the elections, refusing to verify the very existence of the signatures and behaving as if the signatures had never existed.