1974 Italian divorce referendum

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Referendum on the Abrogation of the Divorce Law
12 May 1974
Do you want the Law of 1 December 1970, No. 898, on the regulation of cases of dissolution of marriage, to be abrogated?
OutcomeDivorce law remains in force
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Yes 13,157,558 40.74%
No 19,138,300 59.26%
Valid votes 32,295,858 97.80%
Invalid or blank votes 727,321 2.20%
Total votes 33,023,179 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 37,646,322 87.72%
Blue indicates provinces with a majority Yes vote, while Red indicates provinces with a majority No vote.
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An abrogative referendum on the divorce law was held in Italy on 12 May 1974.[1] Voters were asked whether they wanted to repeal a government law passed three years earlier allowing divorce for the first time in modern Italian history. Those voting "yes" wanted to outlaw divorce as had been the case before the law came into effect, and those voting "no" wanted to retain the law and their newly gained right to divorce. The referendum was defeated by a margin of 59.26% to 40.74% on a voter turnout of 87.72% out of 37 million eligible voters, thus allowing the divorce laws to remain in force.

This vote was the first of its kind in the country, being the first regular legislative referendum held by the

civil rights and anti-clericalism movements, and for the Italian Radical Party
.

Initial petitions

In January 1971 Agostino Sanfratello from Piacenza and Franco Maestrelli from Milan were the first to request a referendum against the divorce law at the Court of Cassation on behalf of the movement Catholic Alliance.

Catholic church
.

Political party positions

The

neo-fascist Italian Social Movement intensely campaigned for a yes vote to abolish the law and make divorce illegal again. Their main themes were the safeguarding of the traditional nuclear family model and the Roman Catechism
.

Most left-wing political forces, the main ones being the Italian Socialist Party and the Italian Communist Party, supported the no faction.

Intense campaigning for a no vote also came from Marco Pannella of the Italian Radical Party which had been petitioning for a right to divorce in Italy since the early 1960s.

Confusion about voting

The wording of the referendum statement caused significant confusion, with some people not understanding that they had to vote "No" in order to retain the right to divorce or vote "Yes" in order to outlaw divorce. It was argued that the wording made the statement insufficiently clear, and some campaigners from the no camp stated that without this confusion the no vote might have been even higher than the 59% obtained. (See double negative.)

Censorship

The

subliminal message
and a form of propaganda to influence the Italian voting public to vote yes in the referendum. The song remained censored on most Italian state television and radio stations for over a month.

Results

Choice Votes %
Yes 13,157,558 40.74
☒N No 19,138,300 59.26
Invalid/blank votes 727,321 –
Total 33,023,179 100
Registered voters/turnout 37,646,322 87.72
Source: Ministry of the Interior
Popular vote
☒N No
 
 59.26%
checkY Yes
 
 40.74%

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Oscar Sanguinetti and Pierluigi Zoccatelli (2022) Costruiremo ancora Cattedrali. Per una storia delle origini di Alleanza Cattolica, D'Ettoris
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