Less than 20% of Italians have turned out to vote on the referendum for artificial insemination and stem cell research. Although voting will continue today until 1500 it is expected that the quorum of 50% + 1 for the referendum to be binding will not be reached.
Turn out was highest in central and northern Italy, with 23.5% in Emilia-Romagna, 21.7% in Tuscany and 18.8 in Liguria. The lowest turnout was in the South, with some places as low as 4%.
There was considerable debate about the call from some politicians and the Catholic Church to simply not vote, as opposed to voting `No` or voting with a blank ballot. According to some this put undue pressure on people since simply going to vote would indicate a preference against the call not to vote.
