Barbara Kornfeld hosts Benedetto Di Gregorio, Responsible for the appointments of the Chairmen of Salerno and Province
On Barbara Kornfeld
Barbara Kornfeld I am in a very nice tea room with Benedetto Di Gregorio who is the one who appoints the Presidents of the Chamber (electoral NDR). Topic on the agenda because we are about to have elections in Campania. Chairman, It's a fairly tense election: how the chairmen of the polling stations are prepared for this new electoral challenge?
Benedetto Di Gregorio First of all, I am an employee of the Ministry of Justice and I am interested in the electoral office. I collect the availability that arrives through e-mail or even - some by post - or even verbally, are processed: carried out checks, to ascertain whether these names are registered in the register of polling station presidents because, if you are not registered - and you must have particular characteristics to be registered - you cannot be nominated. Registrations take place in October at the municipality of residence by those who wish to request it, and it is the Municipality that sends them to the Court of Appeal: and the President of the Court of Appeal - who is the one who signs the decrees appointing the Presidents of the Chamber - inserts in a register, which is updated periodically in January, the new data (or changes of domicile, residences and so on). Already since the last elections - those of the Referendum (and those of this year) – there was something new regarding data entry, because the Tax Code is necessary, without which it is not possible to make the appointment as President of the Office. An activity that put all the Courts of Appeal in difficulty since often these Registers had been updated and modified even without all the data (Meaning what, place of birth or at least an address), instead now with C. F. it is possible to trace whether or not a person is registered in the Register of Polling Chairmen (even though she was registered in Catania, or in Turin, or in Milan); by entering the Fiscal Code we can check if this person is already registered and possibly avoid trying to enter the data again: also because the system would reject the entry, indicating that the name already exists; then through the C.F. research has become more accurate and careful.
Barbara Kornfeld The role of the Chairperson is quite complex: has police functions, and must be careful in different situations, during the performance of its functions.
Benedetto Di Gregorio The President of the Seat, like all the members of the seat, assumes the function of Public Official. The President can and must intervene through the police personnel who are present at the polling station in some particular cases: if there are riots, if there are particular problems, has the power to call on the police forces to ensure that the activities that must be carried out during the elections are carried out in a peaceful and calm manner. However, this figure often includes both the President and the list representatives, or scrutineers, or the secretary, they are kept that way: in the alternative; in the sense that you don't think that it is actually a commitment both from the moral point of view and from the point of view of your own responsibility, it would be appropriate for the members of the polling station to know these concepts.
Barbara Kornfeld The person who inserts the ballot into the ballot box after casting the vote?
Benedetto Di Gregorio The President must insert the ballot. The rule says that once the voter has been identified by the scrutineers, receives the ballot paper – open or unopened – from the President (depending on how you prefer, there is no precise rule) – together with the pencil. Invite the voter to go to the booth to cast their vote. The voter enters the booth, proceeds to vote on the ballot paper, closes the card, returns it to the President. The President ascertains that the ballot given to him by the voter is the same one he gave to him to cast his vote: it does so by checking the number of the stamp and the signature which was affixed by one of the scrutineers to whom the ballot was entrusted.
Barbara Kornfeld Because for the voter "going to vote" is a right but also a duty?
Benedetto Di Gregorio Beh, we must say that very often this is not considered but it is important. It is a right for every voter, with your vote, can give an indication of the progress of those who will then have to govern us. It is a duty because it is part of our life and we all have a duty to go and vote.
Barbara Kornfeld How to vote for these Regionals?
Benedetto Di Gregorio As regards the Salerno district, the Region has prepared a green form, where the Presidents of the Region have been inserted - there should be five or six - and the lists linked to each President. As regards the Campania Region - and therefore also as regards the Salerno constituency - separate voting can be carried out, Meaning what, it is possible to vote for the President of one coalition and the councilors of another, totally different. A maximum of two preferences can be given for councillors, and you must alternate between a male advisor and a female advisor or vice versa, but you can also give just one preference (to a single councilor).
Barbara Kornfeld The last question is in favor of the Presidents of the Chamber. When they have to show up to constitute the polling station? And what is the wish of She who is Their summit and point of reference?
Benedetto Di Gregorio The polling station is constituted at 3:00 pm 16 of the Saturday preceding the elections: so in this case the 22 of November; but it is appropriate, if there are no more precise indications from the Municipalities involved, show up at least an hour beforehand at the polling station where you have been assigned to check the material which will then be provided by the Municipality employees. Ultimately the intention of anticipating is to check if everything is in the municipal bag, because it contains so much of that material: there are electoral lists, there are the minutes, the extracts, the ballot papers, there are posters to put up outside and inside, copying pencils, The stationery material, in short, there are many of those materials; last but not least there are also the ballot papers which are fundamental (there may also be fewer ballots than voters) and it could also happen that something may have escaped the composition of the bag and therefore it would be appropriate to go a little’ first so you can check that everything is there. What I wish the Presidents and all the members of the polling station is to do a good job, to be calm, always check - when there are difficulties - there is an instruction booklet delivered together with the material by the Municipality, and to be much more attentive to substance, don't be too rigid, also try to encourage a fluidity of the electoral phase when there are many voters.
Barbara Kornfeld But you don't bring your cell phone into the voting booth!
Benedetto Di Gregorio You don't bring your cell phone, absolutely: We all need to know this by now; mobile phones cannot be brought into the cabin, it must be left on the desk where the President is when the ballots are received and then collected when the ballots are delivered.
Barbara Kornfeld Thank you President.
