Fleeing the Ballot Box: Behind the Unprecedented Abstention in the 2022 Italian General Election

Abstract

More than one-third of Italian voters (36%) turned out to be non-voters on the election night of 25 September 2022. This time, the first result to be reported in the conventional flow of election news was not the least in subsequent interpretations of the outcome. The umpteenth «shock» in the increase of abstention was neither easily forgotten nor overshadowed by the party race. Rather, it became an integral part of the broader reading of the election. Although a continuation of the trend was to be expected, the degree of non-voting was genuinely surprising, marking the most substantial spike in the history of the Republic.