How to Vote in Italian Elections From Spain

An Italian citizen living on the Costa votes in Italian general elections and national referendums by post, from home, for as long as they live abroad. The one condition is being on AIRE, the Anagrafe degli Italiani Residenti all’Estero — register of Italians resident abroad, which for Andalucía runs through the Consulate General of Italy in Madrid.

The date to note is 31 December 2026. The current legislature first sat on 13 October 2022 and runs five years, so its natural end falls in 2027; anyone who would rather vote in person in Italy at that election has until 31 December of the year before to say so in writing to their consulate. Postal voters have nothing to do beyond keeping their AIRE address current.

Last verified: 28 September 2026.

Who votes from abroad, and on what

Article 1 of Law 459/2001 says Italian citizens resident abroad and on the electoral lists drawn from AIRE vote in the circoscrizione Estero — overseas constituency for both chambers of Parliament and for the referendums under articles 75 and 138 of the Constitution. Article 5 builds those lists by merging AIRE with the consulates’ records, so being on AIRE, with a current address, is the registration.

Which elections, and which not

• General elections and national referendums: by post, from Spain.
• European Parliament: in person, at polling stations the consular offices set up inside Spain, for the Italian candidates. Opting for Spanish candidates through Spain’s electoral census is permanent under Spanish law unless you expressly renounce it, and the double vote is banned outright.
• Regional, provincial and municipal elections in Italy: in Italy only, in person, with the tessera elettorale — voter card from your comune — municipality. Nothing is organised abroad.

Registering: AIRE is the voter roll

AIRE registration is an obligation for any Italian who moves abroad for more than twelve months, due within 90 days of the move; since 1 January 2024 a comune can fine each missed year between 200 and 1,000 euros. The application goes through the Fast It consular portal (serviziconsolari.esteri.it), with a few exceptions such as minors living with one parent.

The Consulate General in Madrid handles AIRE for all eight provinces of Andalucía. The honorary consulate in Málaga (Alameda Principal 35, first floor; [email protected]; appointments by email only) covers Almería, Granada, Jaén and Málaga for guidance and forwarding only; Madrid decides.

Three details decide whether your ballot ever arrives. The application names your AIRE comune, your last one in Italy; a wrong comune can mean no registration at all. Processing can take the 180 days the law allows, and the status shows in Fast It. And every change of address goes to the consulate: a record it cannot reach is cancelled for irreperibilità — being untraceable, and the ballot goes nowhere.

How the postal vote works

When a general election or referendum is called, the consulate posts a plico elettorale — ballot pack to your address in Spain with the ballot papers and instructions. You mark it, seal it in the pre-paid envelope and post it back to the consular office. It has to be there by 16:00 on the Thursday before the vote in Italy; later packs are not counted.

If the pack has not arrived by the fourteenth day before the Italian polling date, contact the consulate to check your position and ask for a duplicate. Someone left off the list can still be admitted on proof of AIRE registration, with a request reaching the consulate by the eleventh day before the vote. In election periods the Madrid consulate answers at [email protected]; the mailbox is off otherwise.

Voting in Italy instead: the 31 December 2026 option

Article 4 of Law 459/2001 lets an AIRE voter choose to vote in person at their comune‘s polling station instead of by post. The choice is made in writing to the consulate covering your residence, by 31 December of the year before the legislature’s natural expiry. The 19th legislature first met on 13 October 2022; the Constitution gives each chamber five years and calls new elections within seventy days of the old ones ending. That puts the expiry in 2027 and the deadline at 31 December 2026, a date worked out from the rule rather than announced.

The option covers one vote only. If Parliament is dissolved early, or a referendum is called, the window is ten days after the vote is called. There is no travel reimbursement for voters who opt for Italy.

Dates that matter

• 31 December 2026: last day to tell the Madrid consulate in writing that you want to vote in person in Italy at the 2027 general election (computed from article 4(1) of Law 459/2001). Postal voters take no action.
• 2027: the general election is due when the legislature elected in 2022 ends; no date has been set.
• Any time: a referendum or an early dissolution opens the ten-day option window.

What this does not cover

Voting in Spain. As an EU citizen resident here you can register for Spanish municipal elections, and you can choose Spanish MEPs over Italian ones, one or the other. Spanish regional and general elections are for Spanish nationals. See How to Register to Vote in Spanish Municipal Elections as a Foreign Resident and Can Foreigners Vote in Elections in Spain?

Italians temporarily in Spain for work, study or medical care, without being AIRE-resident here, have a separate route through their comune, by the 32nd day before the vote; it is not covered here. The Madrid consulate’s arrangements for the next European Parliament election were not published at the time of writing.

The five-minute version

• On AIRE and living in Spain, you vote by post in Italian general elections and national referendums, with no time limit.
• AIRE is the registration: apply through Fast It within 90 days of moving; the Madrid consulate covers Andalucía.
• The ballot pack comes to your Spanish address; post it back to reach the consulate by 16:00 on the Thursday before polling day in Italy.
• To vote in person in Italy in 2027, write to the consulate by 31 December 2026 (computed from Law 459/2001, article 4). Otherwise do nothing.
• European elections: in person at consular polling stations in Spain, or Spanish MEPs via the Spanish census, never both.

Related guides

• Can You Still Vote in Your Home Country While Living in Spain?
• How to Register to Vote in Spanish Municipal Elections as a Foreign Resident
• Can Foreigners Vote in Elections in Spain?
• Spain Election Calendar for Foreign Residents

General information, not legal advice, current as of 28 September 2026. Primary sources: Normattiva (Law 459/2001, articles 1, 4 and 5; Constitution, articles 60 and 61), Ministero degli Affari Esteri (Elezioni politiche e referendum), Consolato Generale d’Italia a Madrid (Servizi elettorali; AIRE; La rete consolare), Camera dei deputati (first sitting of the 19th legislature).