For Italians living outside the country, the Consulate is above all the place to apply for passports, AIRE registration and civil acts. In addition to the administrative offices, an organism directly elected by the residents, responsible for collecting the problems of the community and representing it in relations with the Italian institutions: the Comites. In 2026 these committees will be renewed worldwide, including the consular constituency of New York.
Italians resident in the consular constituency of New York who wish to participate in the Comites elections must ask the Consulate to be included in the list of voters. The vote will be sent only to those who have submitted the application: waiting for their arrival without registering means therefore not being able to vote.
This is the most important point of the first phase of the information campaign initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the consular network. The first notice published by the General Consulate of Italy in New York dates back to 20 July and contains essential information on the functioning of the committees and the conditions to participate in the elections.
Some offices of the diplomatic network, including the Italian Embassy at the Aja, have already indicated on December 4 as the date for the vote. On 29 July, however, the pages of the Consulate of New York and the Farnesina do not yet report the operating schedule, the deadline for enrolling in the electoral list and the procedures for submitting the application. These details will be communicated with the formal indication of the elections.
Comites is the abbreviation of Comitati degli Italiani all’Estero. They were established in 1985 and are elected in consular constituencies with at least three thousand Italian citizens enrolled in AIRE, the Register of Italians resident abroad. The latest Statistical Yearbook of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentions 118 in the world: 115 electives and three constituted without elections.
Their main task is to represent the Italian community in relations with embassies and consulates. The law that regulates the operation assigns to the Comites some functions not recently: to identify the social, cultural and civil needs of the community, to propose initiatives, to collaborate on the protection of the rights of the Italian residents and to express opinions on the consular projects and the requests for contributions submitted by associations and local media.
The Comites therefore deal with issues such as social and educational assistance, Italian language, vocational training, youth participation, equal opportunities and relations with associations. They do not issue passports, identity cards or certificates and cannot replace the consular offices: they may collect problems, formulate proposals and request interventions to the competent institutions.
The New York Comites represents the Italians resident in the State of New York, Connecticut, in the thirteen counties of New Jersey included in the constituency and the Bermuda. The outgoing committee consists of twelve elect, chosen in 2021, to which they can join by coopting foreign nationals of Italian origin.
This time the number of components could increase. The Comites have twelve members in the constituencies up to one hundred thousand Italian citizens and eighteen in those who pass the threshold. At the end of 2025 AIRE members in the New York constituency had reached 110 thousand, with an increase of 3 percent in one year and more than 20 percent compared to 2020, according to the letter of end mandate of the then general console Fabrizio Di Michele. The available data therefore indicate a passage from twelve to eighteen elected, which must be confirmed by the consular decree of indition.
L’ex Console Generale d’Italia a New York Fabrizio Di Michele
They can vote for Italian nationals enrolled in the AIRE and resident for at least six months in the consular constituency. They must also ask for registration in the election list within the deadline set by the Consulate. It is a procedure other than that provided for in the Italian political elections and referendums, for which AIRE members normally receive the electoral material without having to manifest in advance the will to vote.
In 2021 the request could be submitted through the Fast It portal or by sending a form to the Consulate accompanied by a copy of an identity document. The instructions published then cannot be automatically reused for renewal of 2026: modules, addresses and deadlines must be verified in the next official communications.
After registration, the Consulate will send the electoral certificate, the card, the necessary envelopes and a sheet with the instructions. The system is proportional and a list of candidates is voted, with the possibility of expressing preferences. The card must then be sent back to the Consulate and arrive within the deadline indicated in the parcel: counts the date of receipt, not that of the postmark.
The precautionary request of the Pole has had significant effects on participation. In the election of 2021 they voted about a thousand people out of 86 thousand entitled, just over 1 percent. The campaign launched this summer is mainly used to prevent the request mechanism from being unknown until the last few weeks. Waiting for the final calendar, AIRE members can check that their address is updated and follow the dedicated page of the Consulate. The application for registration in the election list will then be submitted in the manner and in the times that will be published after the invocation of the elections.
L’articolo What the Comites need, which will be renewed this year proviene da IlNewyorkese.
