Votare per il referendum: quali regole?

The article describes the procedural rules that governed the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum, with regard to the wording of the question, the franchise, the financing of campaigners and the information to be provided to the public. Particular attention is devoted to the debate that surrounded and followed the adoption of the rules, which were set out by two pieces of Scottish legislation: The Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 and the Scottish Independence Referendum Franchise Act 2013. The content of these acts was constrained by the Scotland Act 1998 (Modification of Schedule 5) Order 2013, approved by Westminster in order to allow the Scottish Parliament to legislate on the matter, as well as by what agreed by the two governments in the Edinburgh Memorandum of Understanding. One of the most significant innovations was the extension of the franchise to 16 and 17 years old, for the first time in the United Kingdom. The piece stresses the negotiated and participated nature of the rules at stake, the key role of the Electoral Commission, and broadly underlines the importance of procedural rules for the legitimacy and acceptance of the outcomes of Referenda.