Aosta Valley: three preferences and gender parity in the regional elections

The Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, 3rd Special Series no. 39 of October 10, 2026, publishes regional law August 14, 2025, no. 27 of the Aosta Valley Region, which reintroduces the three preferences and gender representation for the election of the Regional Council. The measure, identified by reference 26R00272, amends regional law January 12, 1993, no. 3 and rewrites the rules by which the citizens of Aosta Valley express their preference vote.

The text was approved by the Regional Council with an absolute majority of its members and was submitted to a referendum: the consultation of August 10, 2025 had a favorable outcome. The law was promulgated by the President of the Region, TESTOLIN, and was published in the Official Bulletin of the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley no. 46 of August 19, 2025. Publication in the Official Gazette completes its path of legal notification at the national level.

Three lines next to each symbol

Article 1 replaces paragraph 2 of article 1 of regional law no. 3/1993: each voter has one list vote and has the option to express preferences, within the voted list, for a number of candidates not exceeding three. Article 2 amends article 17: next to each individual symbol, three horizontal lines are drawn to allow the voter to express up to three preferences, and other marks or indications are prohibited.

The gender rule

Article 3 entirely replaces article 34 of regional law no. 3/1993, dedicated to list votes and the expression of preferences. The most politically relevant point is the new paragraph 3: in the case of expressing three preferences, at least one must concern candidates of a different gender, otherwise the last preference shall be annulled. The gender representation constraint therefore operates only when the voter chooses to use all three available preferences.

The new article 34 also regulates cases of incomplete or contradictory ballots:

• if the voter does not indicate any list symbol but expresses preferences for candidates all included in the same list, it is understood that they have voted for that list;
• if they indicate multiple symbols but express preferences for candidates of a single list, the vote is attributed to that list;
• if they express more than three preferences, all preferences are null and only the list vote remains valid.

How to write the preference

Article 4 replaces Article 35, regarding the methods of expressing preferences. Preferences are valid only if they are contained within the spaces next to the voted symbol and are expressed using a copying pencil, by writing the first and last name or only the last name of the chosen candidates. In the event of identical surnames among candidates, both the first and last name must always be written and, where necessary, the date and place of birth. Instead of the surname, the Arabic numeral corresponding to the candidate’s position on the list may be written. Those with two surnames may write only one, but the indication of both is mandatory when there is a possibility of confusion between candidates.

Preferences expressed in numbers are null if they result in uncertainty: in such cases, they are considered not to have been cast, but the list vote remains valid. Preferences for candidates not designated with sufficient clarity and those for candidates included in a list other than the one voted for are also null.

Vote without symbol, tables and entry into force

Articles 5 and 6 intervene on two other articles of the 1993 law: in Article 40, the words “and any preference expressed” are replaced by “and any preferences expressed”, while paragraph 2 of Article 41 establishes the validity of a vote cast without indication of the symbol but with the unequivocal expression of preferences for one or more candidates of the same list. Article 7 replaces tables B and B-bis attached to regional law no. 3/1993.

Article 8 declares the law urgent pursuant to Article 31, third paragraph, of the special statute for the Aosta Valley: the entry into force is set for the day following its publication in the Official Bulletin of the Region.

For the citizens of the Aosta Valley, the change is concrete: it is once again possible to indicate up to three names on the ballot, but with a new condition that links the third preference to the gender of the candidates. Anyone who writes three names all of the same gender risks having the last preference annulled, while the list vote remains valid regardless. Publication in the Official Gazette makes the text definitively known and applicable to the next regional consultations.

Source: Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, 3rd Special Series no. 39 of October 10, 2026, Aosta Valley Region, regional law August 14, 2025, no. 27, “Reintroduction of the three preferences and gender representation. Amendments to regional law January 12, 1993, no. 3” (26R00272).